Exhale.
The Game
Team USA came out of the gates strong in the Gold Medal Game against Team Canada. Both sides came out playing a hard and heavy game, exchanging hits and going at each other to set the tone. But Team USA would strike first when Matt Boldy decided to do it himself, finding a weak spot in the Canadian blueline on the rush. He chipped the puck up and took it back, slipping behind Devon Toews and Cale Makar before sliding a backhander past Jordan Binnington. The USA took a 1-0 lead six minutes
into the game.
The game went back-and-forth until about the halfway point. Connor Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington looked great in net but Team USA probably could have pressed a little harder for offense after gaining the early lead. With 10:35 left in the second period, Jake Guentzel took a bad penalty while chasing the puck, giving Team Canada a chance to tie the game. This went on for just 25 seconds before Charlie McAvoy took a careless tripping penalty, giving Canada a five-on-three for 1:33.
Thankfully, Dylan Larkin won the initial draw and Brock Faber cleared it. An early shot from Mackinnon went wide and ate up even more time, and Team USA sent out two forwards in Miller and Torcheck to kill more of the penalty. After J.T. Miller cleared the puck, Trocheck hit the jets to get another change for Dylan Larkin, and a quick whistle on a shot from Celebrini gave Canada one more chance to score off a faceoff. They did not thanks to the puck hopping over Brad Marchand’s stick, and Team USA got one last clear with under 20 seconds left to kill.
While Team USA was admirable on the kill, they continued to be far too defensive after the fact. By the end of the period, Canada was outshooting the USA by 10 shots, with Cale Makar sniping one past Connor Hellebuyck’s blocker off a faceoff with under two minutes to play. It was a great shot, as Quinn Hughes gave Hellebuyck the lane to see the shot by boxing Bo Horvat from the net. Still, facing so many shots in a period was a recipe for disaster, and the sheer volume eventually got to Hellebuyck.
The third period was a tough time for Team USA, despite Mike Sullivan trying to shift players around the lineup. Dylan Larkin joined the top line, while Brock Nelson and Matt Tkachuk joined Jack Hughes on the third, while Tage Thompson went down to the fourth. In the second minute of the frame, Devon Toews had the puck in the crease for Team Canada. Had he just slid it the puck, he would have scored. But he lifted it just a little bit, allowing Connor Hellebuyck the inches needed to make a stunning paddle save with a desperate sweep of the hand. Later, Hellebuyck made breakaway saves against Macklin Celebrini, with Canada then outshooting Team USA at about a 2:1 rate across the whole game. Connor Hellebuyck was having the game of his life, though, totally locked into everything thrown his way.
Late in the period, it looked like Team USA was handed a huge gift for victory when Sam Bennett took a wild high stick on Jack Hughes, breaking Jack’s teeth and drawing blood for a four-minute double minor with just 6:34 left to play. Unfortunately for Team USA, Sullivan did not change the first power play unit, which operated very slowly and only generated one scoring chance before changing off for the second wave. Here, Jack Hughes created some scoring opportunities but got caught on the boards, lost his footing, and took a high stick on Bo Horvat. Despite Team USA probably touching the puck, Canada got an extended chance to play with the empty net, taking off close to 30 seconds before the whistle was blown with 3:23 left in the period. The teams played at four-on-four for under a minute before Canada got one last power play opportunity.
Thankfully, despite some bad plays of the puck, Team USA survived to overtime.
In overtime, Team USA got the best chance on the first couple of rushes when Quinn Hughes fired a one-timer that deflected off of Jordan Binnington’s glove and wide of goal. I thought he had it, but Binnington was able to stretch out just enough to stop it. A couple of shifts later, Jack Hughes changed onto the ice with Canada rushing down. Facing Connor McDavid at full speed, Jack Hughes threw his body into McDavid to loosen the puck into the corner, denying a potential game-winning goal. Jack continued his pursuit of the puck as it was knocked around, jumping up to poke Zach Werenski’s pass past Cale Makar high in the zone.
There was blood in the water, and Zach Werenski took notice. Werenski made his judgement that he had to get on his horse to make another play. With Nathan Mackinnon just about to move the puck back up the ice in Canada’s direction, Werenski entered Team USA’s offensive zone and sealed him off the puck with a perfect hit, turning his body and boxing Mackinnon off. This created a passing lane back to Jack Hughes, who picked his spot and beat Jordan Binnington to deliver the gold medal to Team USA!
Here is the full overtime for those who want to relive it. The final shift by Jack Hughes and Zach Werenski, beating three of the five best players in the world in McDavid, Makar, and Mackinnon in all three zones, should go down as one of the greatest shifts of all time.
The Aftermath
Jack Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck deserve all of the love and praise for their games today. Hellebuyck, who has had a rough history in big-time games, put in the biggest game a goalie could possibly have. The New Jersey Devils’ very own Jack Hughes, who was written off after a fluky Four Nations performance in which his linemates could not bury a single puck, had the best minute-for-minute performance of any skater at the Olympics. Full stop. Jack Hughes was the best skater at the Olympics, and he had to be a goalscorer in the Golden Game. It was fated, and he was all smiles after the game.
And he had a hell of an interview, too.
Unbelievable game by Hellebuyck. He was our best player tonight by a mile. Unbelievable game. Unreal game by our team. That’s just a ballsy, gutsy win. That’s American hockey right there. That’s a great Canadian team, but we’re USA.
Jack is right — Hellebuyck deserves his flowers.
Facing that kind of workload and still stopping shot after shot is rockstar stuff.
Of course, the celebration did not end there. As Team USA skated around the ice with their flags, players began to skate Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey around the ice. This is an emotional enough of a sight for us watching the game, but Johnny was like a brother to so many of the players on the ice, whether he played with them on Team USA or on the Calgary Flames or Columbus Blue Jackets.
When Team USA went to take their pictures on the ice, they did not just hold the jersey up. Zach Werenski, Johnny’s teammate in Columbus, skated out with Johnny’s daughter, while Dylan Larkin skated out with Johnny Jr., who celebrates his second birthday today. These kids (adorable, too), joined the team for the photo their father should have been a part of. Gaudreau forever.
This win will go down in history.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of today’s Gold Medal game? Were you thrilled? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
