The United States men’s hockey team defeated Canada in a 2-1 overtime thriller to capture its first Olympic gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”
24-year-old Jack Hughes lifted the American squad with the game-winning goal in overtime.
The victory also secured the first-ever American Olympic gold medal sweep in men’s and women’s hockey.
For the first time in Olympic history, Team USA won the gold medal in both men's and women's hockey in the same year 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/9eVOGmTmZC
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 22, 2026
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After Team USA and Canada played to a 1-1 tie through regulation, the bitter rivals went to overtime. That’s where Hughes, who had multiple teeth knocked out in the third period, became a national hero.
After making a nice defensive play to slow down Connor McDavid as the Canadian was screaming toward the American net, Hughes threw it in high gear and skated toward the offensive zone. Zach Werenski and Dylan Larkin teamed up to work the puck into the Canadian zone with the numbers advantage. Werenski won a puck battle with Nathan MacKinnon, finding Hughes coming down the weak side. Moments after brother Quinn Hughes had just missed an opportunity to win the game, Jack was pure, firing a gold medal-winning shot past the glove of Binnington.
While Jack Hughes has now earned his place in American hockey lore, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was an even bigger star for the Americans. Hellebuyck played the best game of his career, stopping 41 of 42 Canadian shots and making some miraculous stops when the United States needed them most.
Hellebuyck lived up to his billing as the best goalie in the world as the Americans finished these Olympics 18 for 18 killing opposing penalties with no goals allowed.
For the Canadians, the gold medal game was all about missed opportunities. Canada failed to score on an extended 5-on-3 power play in the second period, Devon Toews was stopped by the stick of Hellebuyck despite having a wide-open net in front of him, and Nathan MacKinnon missed on a glorious opportunity to the Canadian side a 2-1 lead.
It wasn’t the prettiest game the Americans played in these Olympics, but the United States nevertheless emerged as gold medalists after getting it done against one of the most talented teams ever to take the ice.
Watch the game-winning goal below:
JACK HUGHES DELIVERS AMERICA'S GOLDEN MOMENT IN OVERTIME. pic.twitter.com/4foFDOri53
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026
And one of Hellebuyck’s best saves of the game:
Hellebuyck with one of the greatest saves ever
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) February 22, 2026
pic.twitter.com/ouRYLtspvJ
Yahoo Sports shared further:
In the biggest moments, Canada had previously owned this rivalry since NHL players began participating in the Olympics in 1998. Canada won gold-medal matches against the U.S. at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics and shut out the Americans in the 2014 semifinals. The U.S. did beat Canada in round-robin play at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, but when it mattered, the Americans lost again.
A winner-take-all showdown between the U.S. and Canada has long been the most enticing potential matchup at these Olympics, but neither hockey superpower had the luxury of just strolling to the gold-medal match. The U.S. needed an overtime game winner from Quinn Hughes to survive Sweden in the quarterfinals. Canada rallied to overcome third-period deficits against Czechia in the quarters and Finland in the semis.
That set up the gold-medal matchup that the hockey world has waited a dozen years to see on an Olympic stage. Bars opened before sunrise in New York, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and other hockey hotbeds. Fans across the U.S. watched “Miracle” on Saturday night to hype themselves up, set their alarm clocks for an early wakeup and then gathered over early-morning beers and bloody marys.
The scene was even more festive across the Atlantic. The Milan metro was awash with Canada and U.S. jerseys of every era, Eruzione, Gretzky, McDavid and Tkachuk. Chants of “U-S-A” and “Let’s go Canada” rang out as the train hurtled toward Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. One particularly brazen fan in a USA cap playfully tried to start a chant of “51st state.” Outnumbered by Canadians, he was quickly shouted down.
The combination of speed, skill and physicality on display lived up to pregame expectations once the puck dropped. There were ooohs and ahhhs every few seconds from fans on both sides as the Americans and Canadians generated scoring chances.
It was American fans who had reason to cheer first. Six minutes into the first period, Matt Boldy scored a goal that was a product of both individual stickhandling brilliance and defensive negligence.
With Cale Makar and Devon Toews between him and the Canadian net, Boldy deftly flipped the puck over both their sticks and skated unencumbered right between two of the NHL’s top defensemen. Then he deked a stunned Binnington and beat the Canadian goaltender with a backhand.
