Jack Hughes' Overtime Goal and Hellebuyck's 40 Saves Give U.S. Olympic Hockey Gold
jack hughes scored the golden goal early in overtime to lift the United States to a 2-1 victory over Canada in the men's ice hockey gold-medal game at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. The win ended a 46-year Olympic gold drought for U. S. men and snapped Canada's recent dominance in best-on-best play.
Jack Hughes' overtime winner
Jack Hughes — wearing jersey No. 86 and noted for playing through cracked teeth — buried the decisive shot past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington early in the overtime period to complete a 2-1 final. Hughes finished the tournament with four goals, seven points and a plus-8 rating, a performance Big Head Hockey summarized as the Golden Goal for America. He also offered what observers called an all-time remark after the momentous finish.
Connor Hellebuyck's 40-save performance
Connor Hellebuyck was central to the victory, stopping 40 shots in the gold-medal game and making several of the game's biggest saves late to keep the Americans level through regulation. His work through the tournament and those key stops in the final created the opportunity for an overtime finish that Hughes converted.
Matt Boldy and Cale Makar shaped the scoring
Matt Boldy opened the scoring for the United States in the first period, splitting two Canadian defenders and getting a shot past Binnington. Canada answered in the second when Cale Makar tied the contest; the third period produced no goals, sending the game to the 3-on-3 overtime in which Hughes finished the job.
Johnny Gaudreau honored on the ice
After the win, the Americans carried the jersey of the late Johnny Gaudreau onto the ice as part of their celebration. Captain Auston Matthews, alternate Matthew Tkachuk and defenseman Zach Werenski took a lap holding up Gaudreau's sweater, and the team brought Gaudreau's children onto the ice for the official team photo.
Jon Cooper's take on 3-on-3 overtime
Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said he would not use the 3-on-3 overtime format as an excuse for the loss, but added that removing four players from the ice made the game "not hockey anymore. " That comment followed the sudden-death finish that elevated Hughes' shot into Olympic immortality.
National reaction and broader context
President Donald Trump reacted on his social platform, posting: "Congratulations to our great U. S. A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!" followed by "WHAT A GAME!!!" and "LOTS OF WINNING!!!" His recent political prodding of Canada had already helped reignite the on-ice rivalry, which grew hotter last year during the 4 Nations Face-Off; while the Americans did not win that earlier tournament, they prevailed at the Olympics when it mattered most.
Broadcast highlights and social posts circulated widely: NBC Olympics & Paralympics posted clips of Hughes' golden goal and Hellebuyck's game-turning stop, and outlets noted the symbolic and emotional elements surrounding the victory. The Athletic pointed out that this is the United States' first men's Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 team, a 46-year gap that framed Sunday’s triumph.
What makes this notable is that a single defensive performance and one sudden-death finish combined to overturn decades of Olympic outcomes between these two nations: Hellebuyck's saves kept a one-goal contest alive, and Hughes' overtime shot converted that endurance into a historic result.
Other commentary this week ranged beyond the Olympic moment. One outlet described the New Jersey Devils as one of the league's biggest disappointments while another suggested the Devils need to get younger and more skilled; those club-level critiques circulated alongside celebration of the Olympic win. Sportsnet highlighted the team's tribute to Gaudreau on the ice, and a sports account noted that Gaudreau's children joined the team photo, underscoring the personal elements woven through the championship day.
Details such as Hughes' cracked teeth, his tournament totals of four goals and seven points, Hellebuyck's 40 saves, the 2-1 final score, and the Feb. 22, 2026 setting in Milan are part of a tightly drawn narrative: resilient goaltending plus a sudden-death finish produced gold for the United States and ended a four-decade title drought.
