The goal that ended it belonged to Jack Hughes, but the reason the United States was still alive long enough to score it was Connor Hellebuyck.

Team USA beat Canada 2-1 in overtime on Sunday in the men’s hockey gold medal game at the Milano Cortina Olympics, winning its first Olympic men’s hockey gold medal since 1980. Hughes scored 1:41 into overtime to finish the game, but the United States needed a massive performance from Hellebuyck in regulation to get there.

Hellebuyck finished with 41 saves, compared with 28 shots on goal for the United States. Canada controlled long stretches of the game after the first period and repeatedly forced the U.S. goaltender to make high danger stops in traffic, on rebounds, and in transition. By the time overtime started, the game had already become a goaltending story.

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The Americans opened the scoring early and then spent much of the rest of the game defending. Matt Boldy scored at 6:00 of the first period to give the United States a 1-0 lead. Canada tied it late in the second period when Cale Makar scored at 38:16, and from that point the pressure tilted heavily toward the U.S. end.

Canada generated the better volume and much of the better zone time, especially in the third period, when Hellebuyck made 14 saves by himself. That number matters because the final period was where the game could have slipped away from the U.S. entirely. Instead, Hellebuyck held the line and sent the game to overtime tied 1-1.

One of the key moments came when Hellebuyck denied Connor McDavid on a breakaway. Canada had already built momentum, and a goal there would have changed the game. Hellebuyck’s stop preserved the tie and kept the United States in position to win later. The U.S. goalie also handled heavy traffic around the crease as Canada kept attacking with speed and layered pressure.

Special teams also put more pressure on Hellebuyck and the U.S. defense late. The Americans stayed perfect on the penalty kill through the tournament, finishing 18 for 18 after shutting down Canada’s chances in the final. That clean penalty killing record is part of the reason the game reached overtime, but the penalty kill worked because Hellebuyck kept closing the door when Canada got pucks through.

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Canada entered the final without Sidney Crosby, who missed the game because of a lower body injury suffered in the quarterfinals. Even without Crosby, Canada still dictated long stretches and got its equalizer from Makar while pushing for a winner in regulation. Hellebuyck was the central obstacle in that push.

Once overtime opened up, the game changed quickly. Under Olympic gold medal rules, the final is decided by sudden death overtime and not a shootout. The United States got the finish at 1:41 when Hughes scored after Zach Werenski stripped Nathan MacKinnon and moved the puck across to him. Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for Canada, but the only save total that defined the game was Hellebuyck’s 41.

The win gave the United States its third Olympic men’s hockey gold medal and its first on foreign soil, following previous titles in 1960 and 1980. It also completed an unbeaten run through the tournament for a U.S. roster built around NHL talent and anchored by Hellebuyck in net.

The headline number will always be 2-1 in overtime, and Hughes will always own the golden goal. But the game itself was decided earlier, when Canada had repeated chances to take control and Hellebuyck kept the score where it needed to be. Without that stretch, there is no overtime winner, no gold medal celebration, and no end to the 46 year wait.

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