Jack Hughes scores overtime winner as U.S. ends 46-year Olympic gold drought
jack hughes delivered the overtime game-winner to lift the United States to a 2-1 victory over Canada at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, ending a 46-year run without men’s hockey gold. The goal, and the broader team response, reshaped the tournament’s final moments.
Jack Hughes’s golden goal, his numbers and the image of the moment
Wearing No. 86, Jack Hughes scored early in overtime when his shot beat Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington, giving Team USA a 2-1 win. Across the tournament Hughes finished with four goals, seven points and a +8 rating, and social posts captured him shouting an all-time quote after the moment. He was pictured with cracked teeth after the celebration, and some observers called him an American legend.
Connor Hellebuyck’s 40-save performance kept the U. S. alive
American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 40 shots in the gold-medal game, making several late saves on Canada’s best chances. Hellebuyck was described as impressive for Team USA throughout the Olympics, and his late-game stops were pivotal in sending the contest to overtime.
How Matt Boldy and Cale Makar set the stage for overtime
Matt Boldy opened the scoring in the first period, splitting two Canadian defenders and beating Jordan Binnington for the Americans’ first goal. Cale Makar tied the game in the second period, and neither side scored in the third, producing the overtime frame in which Hughes finished it.
Tributes to Johnny Gaudreau and postgame gestures on the ice
Following the win, Team USA carried the late Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey onto the ice to honour the former Team USA mainstay. Captain Auston Matthews, alternate Matthew Tkachuk and defenceman Zach Werenski — who played alongside Gaudreau on the Columbus Blue Jackets — held up Gaudreau’s sweater while taking a lap after the victory. The team also brought Johnny Gaudreau’s kids onto the ice for the official team photo.
Reactions from rivals and political echoes
Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said he would not use the 3-on-3 overtime format as an excuse for losing the gold-medal game, but he added that taking four players off the ice made the hockey "not hockey anymore. " Observers noted that the U. S. win ended Canada’s dominance in best-on-best hockey and represented the country’s first Olympic men’s hockey gold in 46 years, a span dating back to the 1980 victory.
President’s reaction and the broader rivalry
As the Americans celebrated in Milan, the president reacted on social media, writing, "Congratulations to our great U. S. A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!" and adding, "WHAT A GAME!!!" and "LOTS OF WINNING!!!" The coverage noted that the president’s political prodding of Canada helped reignite the rivalry between the two nations on the ice, a rivalry that began last year during the 4 Nations Face-Off. A photograph captured the president dancing after speaking at a rally at Coosa Steel Corporation in Rome, Georgia, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
Team USA’s victory in Milan on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, closed a long chapter in U. S. men’s hockey and left multiple threads — from individual performances by Jack Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck to tributes for Johnny Gaudreau and comments from Jon Cooper — to be unpacked in the weeks ahead.
