Jack Hughes lifts U.S. to Olympic hockey gold with overtime winner
jack hughes scored the golden goal early in overtime to give the United States a 2-1 victory over Canada and the men’s Olympic hockey gold medal in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 — the U. S. team’s first Olympic men’s hockey title since 1980.
Jack Hughes scores golden goal in overtime
Jack Hughes, wearing No. 86, finished the game’s decisive play by getting a shot past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington early in the overtime period, pushing the final score to 2-1 in the gold-medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy on Feb. 22, 2026. Team USA celebrated on the ice after the overtime winner.
How the game unfolded
Matt Boldy opened the scoring for the Americans in the first period when the Minnesota Wild forward split two Canadian defenders and beat Binnington for the first goal. Cale Makar tied the game in the second period, and neither team recorded a goal in the third. Hughes’s overtime winner completed the 2-1 result.
Connor Hellebuyck anchored the net
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 40 shots for Team USA, including late saves that preserved the tie and sent the game to overtime. NBC Olympics highlighted one of those stops with the line “THAT WAS ONE HELLE-BUYCK OF A STOP. ” Hellebuyck’s 40 stops were a central reason the Americans reached overtime and allowed Hughes’s winner to decide the gold medal.
Hughes’s tournament numbers and on-ice image
jack hughes finished the Olympics with four goals, seven points and a +8 rating, and he scored the Golden Goal for America that clinched the tournament. Images and posts from the event showed Hughes sporting cracked teeth after the winning play, a picture that circulated alongside celebrations and postgame comments.
Tributes on the ice and reactions off it
Following the victory, Team USA carried the late Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey onto the ice. Captain Auston Matthews, alternate Matthew Tkachuk and defenceman Zach Werenski held up Gaudreau’s sweater while taking a lap after the win, and the team brought Johnny Gaudreau’s kids onto the ice for the official team photo.
Political reaction and the wider rivalry
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: "Congratulations to our great U. S. A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!" He added, "WHAT A GAME!!!" and "LOTS OF WINNING!!!" The post followed a period of renewed provocation that helped rekindle the rivalry between the United States and Canada after clashes at the 4 Nations Face-Off the previous year.
Voices, context and commentary
Observers called the outcome historic: one note said that forty-six years after the Miracle on Ice in 1980, the United States reached the top of men’s Olympic hockey again, ending Canada’s recent dominance in best-on-best play. Team Canada coach Jon Cooper pushed back on the idea that the 3-on-3 overtime format was an excuse, saying that taking four players off the ice made the hockey “not hockey anymore. ” Commentary elsewhere noted that the New Jersey Devils have been “one of the league’s biggest disappointments — but there are still several positives beneath the surface, ” and suggested that the Devils “need to get younger and more skilled. ”
Photographs from the arena captured the gold medal, the celebration lap and Hughes raising his arms after scoring; a gallery of images showed the medal presentation and team celebration at the Milano Cortina 2026 venue.
What’s next: Team USA will complete medal ceremonies and recovery activities in Milan before returning home, and the Olympic tournament record will reflect the 2-1 gold-medal result and Jack Hughes’s overtime winner on Feb. 22, 2026.
