USA wins Olympic gold in thrilling men’s hockey final against Canada
MILAN – Finally.
Forty-six years after the United States won its last men’s hockey gold medal at the Olympics, the U.S. has reached the top of the mountain again, ending Canada’s dominance in best-on-best hockey Sunday afternoon.
This wasn’t 20 college kids capturing the hearts of a nation by ending the Soviet Union’s reign. These were 25 NHL stars finally finding a way to defeat the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Jack Hughes’ “Golden Goal” 1:41 into three-on-three overtime delivered the United States its third men’s hockey gold medal and first since 1980.
Canada had won 15 consecutive games in best-on-best Olympics since losing to the United States in the 2010 round robin. It had been nothing but wins since Crosby’s “Golden Goal” after Zach Parise’s exhilarating tying goal forced overtime at the Vancouver Olympics.
The Americans abided exactly by the advice offered by 1980 “Miracle on Ice” captain Mike Eruzione when he dropped by Team USA’s Winter House to have lunch with the team Saturday.
“Just leave it all out there,” 2026 United States captain Auston Matthews recounted. “This is what you play for, what we came here for. We don’t get these moments all the time. The Olympics comes around every four years. So you want to embrace it … and leave it all on the ice.”
Connor Hellebuyck sure did, as he was a one-man show during one of the all-time great performances. In a game where Canada outshot the U.S. 42-28 and 35-20 after the one period, Hellebuyck did everything in his power during a 41-save masterpiece to ensure gold medals for his 24 teammates.
In the second period, he denied McDavid on a breakaway. In the third period, he denied Macklin Celebrini and robbed Devon Toews of a tap-in into an open net. He stood firm with persistent pressure.
Then, after the United States couldn’t score on a four-minute power play in the waning minutes of the game, Hellebuyck and the U.S. killed off a Hughes penalty with 3:23 to go to finish the tournament 18 for 18 on the kill.
The United States jumped out to a 1-0 lead six minutes into the first period when Matt Boldy sped from his own blue line, crossed into the offensive zone, and split defensemen Makar and Devon Toews en route to a highlight-reel goal.
The Americans controlled the pace in the first period, but that changed dramatically in the second when the Canadians shortened the bench, continued to throw out their big dogs and hemmed the U.S. in its own zone for what felt like 20 minutes.
The U.S. kept chipping the puck out over and over again, allowing the Canadians to continually pressure on their way to an 18-8 shot advantage. Still, it took a perfect shot by Makar to tie the score with 1:44 left in the period.
This after the United States killed a 1:33 five-on-three disadvantage early in the second with two two-forward sets and defenseman Brock Faber on the ice for 1:23 of Canada’s two-man advantage.
And in the end, Zach Werenski found Hughes for the winner to cap a marvelous tournament.
Meanwhile, Team Canada’s impressive best-on-best Olympic streak is over.
The loss Sunday for Canada snapped that long win streak at best-on-best with NHL players at the Olympics. It also snapped Team Canada’s incredible run at best-on-best overall; Canada won gold in Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, the World Cup of Hockey in 2016 and the 4 Nations last year.
The Canadians failed to win gold despite outstanding performances from tournament-leading scorer McDavid and 19-year-old phenom Celebrini.
Team Canada once again played without the sport’s ultimate leader, Sidney Crosby, who was ruled out for Sunday’s game despite trying so hard behind the scenes to play. He skated in Team Canada’s closed practice on Saturday. Crosby suffered a lower body injury in Wednesday’s quarterfinal win over Czechia, and the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar was unable to suit up for Friday’s semifinals. These will most likely be the final Olympics for the 38-year-old two-time gold medalist from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. The all-time Canadian scoring leader at best-on-best Olympics, Crosby’s international era as Team Canada captain has been nothing short of spectacular.
“I don’t even know what words to use,” said defenseman Drew Doughty, the only other player to skate alongside Crosby in two previous Olympics. “I mean, he’s the guy that showed all the young guys, young players growing up, what it means to be Canadian, what it means to be a Canadian hockey player. Getting to play with him, I mean, I even feel that being a teammate of his. So that just shows you how special it is.”
Celebrini didn’t know where to start Saturday when asked about Crosby.
“Just the way he treats people,’’ said Celebrini. “His leadership. His compassion. All the stuff off ice that you hear about now. Obviously we don’t have to talk about his on-ice because that speaks for itself, but the kind of person he is, the way he treats people. He’s just one of the guys who wants to be around all of us.
“I mean, every guy in this locker room looks up to him.’’
Which makes losing in what was likely Crosby’s final Olympics even more agonizing for the rest of the team.
Team Canada was also without top-4 defenseman Josh Morrissey (upper body) yet again. Slated to team up with Colton Parayko again as Canada’s top shutdown pair, as they were at 4 Nations a year ago, Morrissey was injured in the Olympic opening game and never was able to make his way back, despite skating at a few practices. Morrissey’s loss in this tournament was significant, especially in the gold medal game as Canada struggled at times to get the puck out of its zone, pressured by an effective U.S. forecheck.
The loss on Sunday will also ignite debate in Canada about the roster selection, notably leaving the likes of Matthew Schaefer, Evan Bouchard and Connor Bedard at home.
But the performances of teams like bronze medalist Finland and especially surprising Slovakia in this tournament are also indicative of how much more parity there is now in men’s international hockey.
Powerhouse Sweden failed to reach the semifinals, which was a surprise. Czechia is back as a hockey power, too, almost knocking out Canada in the quarterfinals.
This isn’t a two-team tournament.
“I think it’s easy for people to sit back and say, you know, this game is always going to happen,’’ McDavid said Saturday of the USA-Canada matchup. “It wasn’t always the case. You know, games have been so, so close … they were one shot away from being out, we were one shot away from being out. It’s so, so tight. Hockey across the globe is in such a good place with (the) Swiss, the Slovaks, everybody. … It’s been such a competitive tournament all over. I think we saw that this tournament.’”
U.S. coach Mike Sullivan, who said this was the best collection of Americans he has ever seen, offered perspective to his team in the days leading up to gold. In the 100-plus years of United States men’s hockey teams participating in the Olympics, only 36 hockey players have snatched that gold medal between the 1960 and 1980 victorious teams.
Add 25 others.
Bill Guerin, the U.S. GM, compiled this roster and took lots of scrutiny for leaving the likes of goal scorers Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield back home, as well as former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox.
But the decorated former United States player, one who took part in three Olympics and was part of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey-winning American roster, told the Athletic, “this is the highlight of my career.”
The Americans have always been close in best-on-best in the Olympics and last year’s 4 Nations. But they always finished second fiddle to Canada’s supremacy.
This time, after years of heartbreak, the inferiority complex to Canada has finally disappeared. The United States is right on par with the powerhouse north of the border.
USA Hockey has never been stronger, as we’ve seen in recent world juniors and last year’s World Championship.
“There’s no higher stage than international competition at the Olympics,” Sullivan said Saturday. “And I think these guys, they cherish this opportunity. We all do, myself included. We all feel incredibly privileged to be part of it and participate in this event and we also understand that it doesn’t come around all the time. And so we’re doing our very best to maximize the opportunity that we have in front of us.”
This roster was a blend of speed, star power, grit, the best collection of defensemen in the tournament and Hellebuyck, whose playoff struggles are well-chronicled, proving he can win on the biggest stage.
The Tkachuk brothers – Matthew and Brady – brought heart and soul and love of country. The Hughes brothers – Quinn and Jack – wowed with their video-game-like skill level. Dylan Larkin and Tage Thompson, huge players on perennial losing teams in the NHL, showed they have the makeup to excel in big moments. And J.T. Miller and Vinent Trockeck, who accepted their fourth-line and penalty-killing roles professionally, vindicated Guerin and the staff as to why they felt they’d be integral in a short tournament.
No, this wasn’t 1980 and wasn’t a miracle. But you can bet this group of Americans will inspire a new crop of American youngsters the way the 1980 crew inspired the Guerins, Mike Modanos and Keith Tkachuks and the way that silver-medal 2010 team inspired the Hugheses and so many others.
Quinn and Jack Hughes, who combined for 15 points in the tournament, lived in Toronto at the time. They were 10 and 8 years old in 2010. In the group stage, when the Americans beat Canada, the boys were with a bunch of young hockey players, including Dylan Strome and Ryan McLeod, and hockey parents. Everybody was rooting for Canada except for Americans Quinn and Jack, who were dressed in USA garb and had their faces painted red, white and blue.
When the U.S. scored, the Hughes brothers were the only two who screamed in excitement in a big hall full of disappointed Canadians.
“It was like the music stopped,” Ellen Hughes, their mom, said. “Our boys were clapping and it was the first time we really felt like we were foreigners. They wore the red, white and blue and were so proud.”
Of course, when Canada scored in overtime in the gold-medal game, the next day the Hugheses walked into their individual locker rooms and took grief.
Well, no longer.
Sunday afternoon, Quinn and Jack Hughes, along with 23 teammates and a bunch of proud coaches, staff members and executives, reached the pinnacle.
They’re going back to the United States with gold around their necks.