San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle had a message for Canadians after they booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a 4 Nations Face-off match against the U.S. on Saturday.
Canadians came hard after the U.S. national anthem before the puck dropped at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Canadian team then dropped the game to the U.S., 3-1. Kittle and the rest of the Americans playing and watching the game got the last laugh.
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U.S. teammates celebrate the empty net goal over Canada by Jake Guentzel during the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
“Don’t boo the anthem!” Kittle wrote in a post on Instagram along with the final score.
As soon as the puck dropped, American and Canadian players’ gloves dropped as well. There were three fights within the first nine seconds of the game.
Matthew Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, his brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett and J.T. Miller fought Colton Parayko. Brady Tkachuk told ESPN that his brother’s fight “happened pretty organically.”
CANADA FANS, WITH TRUDEAU IN ATTENDANCE, AGAIN BOO ‘STAR-SPANGLED BANNER’ BEFORE GAME VS. USA DESPITE PUSHBACK
Canada head coach Jon Cooper talks to players during the 4 Nations Face-Off game against the United States in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski was unhappy with the booing during the national anthem. In the NHL, boos have been heard during the song after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Canada, which have since been paused. The president has also teased about Canada becoming the “51st state.”
“We knew it was going to happen,” Werenski said. “It happened the last game, it’s been happening in the NHL before this, and we knew tonight was going to be the same way. We obviously don’t like it.”
The U.S. faced boos ahead of their game against Finland and later won 6-1.
U.S. players celebrate after defeating Canada in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025 (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
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“It is what it is,” Werenski said. “We kind of had an idea. We used it as motivation the best we could and found a way to get a win. But we had an idea going into it, so it wasn’t a surprise. Definitely don’t like it, though.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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