The USA And Canadian Hockey Teams Played Last Night And There Were A Ton Of Knuckle-Sandwiches

MONTREAL - Canada and the United States have been involved in plenty of heated moments on hockey's international stage.

The 1996 World Cup. The men's gold-medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Spirited, back-and-forth finals between the women's programs.

The rivalry reached a new — and nasty — level Saturday.

Dylan Larkin scored the winner in the second period and added an assist as the U.S. beat Canada 3-1 after a punch-filled start that saw three fights within nine seconds to kick off the countries' electric matchup at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Canadian head coach Jon Cooper said the chaotic opening topped Wednesday's tournament curtain-raiser that saw NHL great Mario Lemieux receive a raucous pre-game ovation before the country's 4-3 overtime victory against Sweden.

"That was as organic as it gets," he said. "I guess 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute-and-a-half."

"Mayhem," Cooper added later when asked to describe Saturday in one word.