While a battle between Winnipeg and Nashville was about to happen, another battle was brewing just steps from Bridgestone Arena — Canada vs USA.
It was about an hour before puck drop Sunday when a large group of Jets fans took over Tootsies bar on Broadway.
The crowd was getting rowdy and riled up ahead of game two and the smack talk had started.
WATCH: The contest for the Stanley Cup has moved well beyond hockey in this Nashville bar
The bartender and singer walked around to collect tips for song requests when a man from Nova Scotia dropped a crisp $100 into the jar.
“I’d like to hear the Canadian anthem,” he said. “And I want the Winnipeg girl to sing it.”
That Winnipeg girl was Manitoba-born Nashville singer Courtney Lynn.
Lynn jumped at the chance and jumped on the bar. As she sang the Canadian anthem, Jets fans started pouring into the bar singing loud and proud.
As the loud audible “True North” passed and the anthem ended, an American man stood up and countered the song with his own request — $20 to hear the American anthem — and the battle between the countries rang out, inside and out.
You don’t have to be good at math to know that Canada leads the contest.
Yes, technically the playoff series was tied 1-1 as of the end of the game Sunday, but the battle took on a whole new air Monday.
The Royal Canadian Air Force confirmed two CF-18 Hornets out of Cold Lake Alta., would conduct a flyby over Winnipeg as the Jets prepare to take on the Predators in Game Three.