Montreal Fans Boo US National Anthem Ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off Game against Canada

The booing occurred despite a pre-game announcement by public address announcer Michel Lacroix, who urged the crowd in both French and English to “kindly respect the anthems and the players that represent each country.”

The reaction was more pronounced than during Thursday’s game, when the US defeated Finland.

The jeering began as Warrant Officer David Grenon of the Royal Canadian Air Force Band started singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and continued throughout the anthem.

“We knew it was going to happen,” said US defenseman Zach Werenski after the US secured a 3-1 victory over Canada in front of a crowd of over 21,000.

“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.”

US players have attempted to ignore the booing.

Following the team’s 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck said he “paid no attention to” the crowd’s reaction.

“You have free speech,” Hellebuyck said.

“You can do whatever you want. If you’re going to boo the anthem, we sing it for the troops that protected our freedom. That doesn’t really mean anything to me. You can do whatever you want. But I don’t use it at all.”

Werenski acknowledged that the booing served as motivation for the US team, which embraced the role of the villain in Canada.

“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.”

US forward Matthew Tkachuk, who engaged in a fight with Canada’s Brandon Hagel just seconds into the game, dismissed any connection between the altercation and the anthem booing.

Instead, players described the atmosphere as electrifying.

“It’s just unbelievable, the atmosphere, to play on this stage in Canada, that was pretty cool for all of us I think,” said winger Jake Guentzel, who scored two goals, including an empty-netter to seal the victory.

“There’s a lot of excitement from our team coming out for warmups and just seeing how packed it was. That was pretty special.”

The booing of the US anthem by Canadian fans has become more frequent since US President Donald Trump repeatedly referenced Canada becoming “the 51st state” and threatened tariffs against the country.

When asked about the anthem booing during practice on Friday, Canadian defenseman Drew Doughty expressed disapproval.

“Obviously, I know what’s going on, and I understand the Canadians’ frustration, but I think we should respect the anthems and stuff like that,” Doughty said.

“I don’t think anyone should be booing.”