Canadian defenseman Drew Doughty on fighting Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday: “I’ll do anything for my country”
Drew Doughty and Matthew Tkachuk, whose countries meet in this week’s 4 Nations Face-Off final, have plenty of previous.
Canada defensemen Drew Doughty says he won’t shy away from fisticuffs with the U.S.’s Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday, when the two countries go head to head in the final of ice hockey’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Canadians and the Americans meet for the second time in five days, after the U.S. overcame a hostile atmosphere in Montreal to beat their North American neighbors in the tournament’s round-robin phase on Saturday.
Fights, boos amid U.S.-Canada tensions
Against the backdrop of political tensions between Canada and the States, the U.S. national anthem was loudly booed by the home supporters in Bell Centre, before the match itself saw little love lost between the two sets of players. Indeed, the clash witnessed three fights inside the first 10 seconds.
Jake Guentzel scored twice for the U.S. in a 3-1 win, as the Americans booked their spot in the championship game at Boston’s TD Garden. Two days after losing to their local rivals, the Canadians then set up a rematch in the final with a 5-3 victory over Finland in Massachusetts.
And in the wake of Canada’s win over the Finns, Doughty told TNT’s Paul Bissonnette that he’ll have no problem taking the fight to the Americans - particularly Tkachuk, a player with whom he has plenty of previous in the NHL.
“I’ll do anything for my country...”
“You have a long history with Matthew Tkachuk the minute that he entered the league,” Bissonnette said to Doughty on Monday. “If he were to challenge you on Thursday, would you go him?”
“You’re putting me on the spot, Biz,” Doughty replied. “I mean, I’ll do anything for my country and if the time is right and I’ve got to go him, I guess so.”
“I love that,” Bissonnette responded, adding: “Go get ‘em, ‘Dewey’, Canada believes in you boys. Get it done.”
Drew Doughty on potentially dropping the gloves with Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday...
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) February 18, 2025
"I'll do anything for my country" 👀 pic.twitter.com/taM4Rj9hPG
What is Doughty’s history with Matthew Tkachuk?
As explained by Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler, the pair first tangled in a 2017 game between the Calgary Flames and the Los Angeles Kings, when Flames rookie Tkachuk caught Doughty with an elbow to the face. “He’s a pretty dirty player, that kid,” the Kings player said post-game.
The pair then clashed again in a Flames vs Kings matchup two weeks later, after Tkachuk had called Doughty out pre-game for “go[ing] right to the media and start[ing] complaining” about his opponent.
As is noted by Sports Illustrated’s Karl Rasmussen, Tkachuk and Doughty’s most significant spat since then came in 2019, when the latter declared that he had “no respect” for the American winger.
Canada vs United States: how to watch the 4 Nations Face-Off final
Canada and the U.S. meet on Thursday, February 20, 2025, with puck drop at TD Garden scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the game live on ESPN, ESPN+ and Disney+.
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