MONTREAL — The bad blood didn’t stop at the anthems.

Saturday’s USA-Canada 4 Nations Face-Off match, which had a ton of hype entering the showdown, started with three consecutive fights in the game’s first nine seconds as the Bell Centre crowd lost its collective mind.

First, Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel threw down off the opening faceoff.

Then, Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett did the same.

That was all before the puck was dropped.

Once the game finally started, just nine seconds of play happened before a third fight broke out following a scrum at Canada’s net — this one between Colton Parayko and JT Miller.

Miller was called for a cross-check, with Canada failing to score on the ensuing power play.

Whether it was related to the escalating politics between the two countries, it is hard not to draw a connection between the raucous booing of the “Star Spangled Banner” and what took place shortly afterward.

Players on both sides were asked about the anthem booing in the lead-up to this game and generally declined to give substantive answers, not wanting to delve into politics.

Matthew Tkachuk, however, said, “I don’t like it. That’s all I got.”

The Panthers star was at the White House just a couple of weeks ago and presented President Trump with a No. 47 Panthers jersey to honor the team’s win in the Stanley Cup Final.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who Trump has referred to as “Governor Trudeau” — was in attendance at the Bell Centre on Saturday night for the first best-on-best match between the United States and Canada in nine years.