Jack Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck Lift U.S. to Olympic Hockey Gold in Milan
jack hughes scored the golden goal that ended a 46-year Olympic drought for the United States, delivering a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in the men's final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The win, sealed early in overtime, spotlighted both Hughes's finishing touch and Connor Hellebuyck's tournament-long goaltending work.
Jack Hughes’s overtime winner
Wearing No. 86, Jack Hughes ripped the decisive shot past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington early in overtime to give Team USA a 2-1 victory. The goal came on Feb. 22, 2026, in Milan, Italy, and capped a tournament in which Hughes finished with four goals, seven points and a +8 rating. He celebrated the moment despite sporting cracked teeth, and his postgame remarks were widely shared.
Connor Hellebuyck’s 40-save performance
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 40 shots in the gold-medal game and made a number of critical saves on Canada’s late pushes, a performance that kept the Americans alive through regulation and into overtime. NBC Olympics highlighted one particularly pivotal save with the exclamation: "THAT WAS ONE HELLE-BUYCK OF A STOP. " Hellebuyck’s workload throughout the tournament and his play in the final were central to the outcome: his saves directly led to the extra period in which Hughes finished the game.
Game flow: Matt Boldy, Cale Makar and a scoreless third
Matt Boldy opened the scoring in the first period for the United States, splitting two Canadian defenders and sending a shot past Jordan Binnington. Cale Makar tied the game for Canada in the second period. Neither team scored in the third period, a defensive stanza that pushed the contest into the 3-on-3 overtime that decided the gold. The low-scoring nature of the match—ending 2-1—reflected tight goaltending and disciplined defensive play from both sides.
Tribute to Johnny Gaudreau and celebrations on the ice in Milan
The Americans used their victory lap to honor the late Johnny Gaudreau. Team USA carried Gaudreau’s jersey onto the ice after the win; captain Auston Matthews, alternate Matthew Tkachuk and defenseman Zach Werenski lifted Gaudreau’s sweater together while taking a lap. The team also brought Gaudreau’s children onto the ice for the championship photo. The gold medal and the ceremony that followed were part celebration, part tribute.
Political reaction and Canada rivalry
President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social, congratulating the team with the posts: "Congratulations to our great U. S. A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!" and "WHAT A GAME!!!" followed by "LOTS OF WINNING!!!" The reaction came as the rivalry with Canada, reignited in part by the president’s political prodding last year, culminated in the Milano Cortina final; that provocation had intensified tensions dating back to a meeting between the two nations during the 4 Nations Face-Off the previous year.
Coach remarks and NHL context
Canada’s coach, Jon Cooper, declined to blame the 3-on-3 overtime format for the loss but said that taking four players off the ice made the hockey "not hockey anymore. " Commentary about NHL implications also followed the victory: one analysis called the New Jersey Devils "one of the league’s biggest disappointments — but there are still several positives beneath the surface, " and another noted the Devils "need to get younger and more skilled. " Those assessments appeared alongside social coverage celebrating Hughes's Olympic run and his elevated status after the gold-medal goal.
The game’s sequence—Boldy’s early strike, Makar’s equalizer, Hellebuyck’s 40-save resistance, and Hughes’s overtime finish—created a clear cause-and-effect path to the title. What makes this notable is the combination of elite goaltending keeping the U. S. in contention and a late offensive breakthrough that ended a 46-year drought since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" gold. The broader implication is a high-profile international victory that will reverberate through NHL narratives and player legacies going forward.
