By almost any measure, Saturday night’s USA-Canada 4 Nations Face-Off game was a significant success for the NHL, drawing impressive ratings on ABC, with an average of 4.4 million viewers and a peak of 5.1 million. This made it the most-watched NHL event outside the Stanley Cup Final since 2019. The USA claimed victory with a score of 3-1, and the game was notable for having three fights in the first nine seconds, generating considerable buzz on social media.
However, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was not impressed. On his SiriusXM Radio Mad Dog Sports Radio show, he expressed his criticisms of the game, saying, “Two things I did not like about the game, and I know everybody thinks it’s one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen. Uh uh. Canada only had 22 shots on goal, they put very little attack on in the third period. It wasn’t a free-for-all game. The first period was great, but the game significantly flattened out after that. To me, and I’m not a hockey aficionado — I don’t pretend to be — but I’m a sports aficionado, I did not sense drama in the third period of that game.”
Russo was particularly irritated by the three fights that kicked off the game, which he deemed “fake” and “prearranged.” He stated, “I don’t like things that are pre-orchestrated… They had three fights in nine seconds, they all texted each other before the game to have those fights. I know the fans in the arena loved it, and the fans at home got emotionally into the game right away. But to me, that was a joke. That was fake. Let’s all drop the gloves and kill each other in the first nine seconds of the game. It wasn’t organic; it was pre-arranged. It was not something that came through a rugged hit or dirty play. They set that up before the game. That’s fake. I didn’t like that.”
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA OPEN UP THEIR FOUR NATIONS GAME WITH THREE FIGHTS IN THE FIRST NINE SECONDS! pic.twitter.com/Y7fLhccJ5K
— The Sports Place (@offsportsplace) February 16, 2025
A man who could not name three NHL players at gunpoint will now explain to us why the USA-Canada hockey game sucked the other night. pic.twitter.com/futiIcVYQ3
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) February 17, 2025
No matter Russo’s perspective, the NHL is undoubtedly pleased with the impressive TV ratings and the excitement that the game generated.
