The 4 Nations Face-Off was highly anticipated for months, but no matchup was circled on more schedules than Team Canada vs Team USA. And from the get-go, fans got exactly what they wanted.

The two international powerhouses fought three times in the first nine seconds, with Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel immediately dropping the gloves. Next, it was Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett before JT Miller was brave enough to throw hands with Colton Parayko, who has a clear size advantage.

Fans were absolutely loving the madness and they were also losing their minds on social media:

This fan had a comical Donald Trump joke:

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At the time of writing, it's 1-1 heading into the second intermission. Connor McDavid opened the scoring for Team Canada with a ridiculous goal, breezing through the USA blue line and beating Connor Hellebuyck's glove side. But, Jake Guentzel quickly responded for the Americans, beating Jordan Binnington five hole.

This is the first meeting between Team Canada and Team USA in nearly a decade and it's one of the best rivalries in sports. After all, these two are the co-favorites to win the first-ever 4 Nations tournament, although the States may have an advantage defensively and in net with Hellebuyck, one of the best netminders in the world. For the Canadians, it doesn't help that Cale Makar isn't in the lineup in Montreal due to illness.

Canada started the event well on Wednesday evening, taking down Sweden 4-3. While they did initially squander a two-goal lead in the third period, Mitch Marner saved the day in overtime with a filthy winner. As for the States, they were tied 1-1 with Finland but proceeded to score five times in the final 23 minutes, running away with a convincing victory.

We'll see if there's any more drama in the final two periods of Team Canada vs Team USA. There's certainly a good chance we'll see them clash again in the final on February 20 in Boston.