MILAN — It seemed only fitting that the player who gave his two front teeth to Team USA’s quest for Olympic hockey gold would score the game-winning goal in a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada.
Jack Hughes took a high stick to the mouth from Canada’s Sam Bennett in the third period, which drew blood and kept Hughes down on the ice for a few moments.
‘My first thought was, I looked down on the ice and saw my teeth,’ Hughes said, giving media members a big toothless grin on Sunday. ‘Like, here we go again. … I know the last time that happened, wasn’t really fun.’
Hughes’ second thought was he just landed his team an ‘elite first power play,’ four-minutes to be exact, after Bennett was called for a double minor penalty at 53:26. ‘I thought they were going on the ice to score. It was going to be a gold medal. And then obviously I come on the ice and I take a penalty,’ Hughes said.
Hughes, too, was called for high sticking at 56:37, effectively cutting Team USA’s advantage to 2 minutes and 49 seconds and putting the Americans at a disadvantage in the closing minutes of regulation.
As for Hughes’ third thought? ‘I pictured myself on Barstool (Sports) being the guy that America hates because Canada scores in the power play and I was like, ‘Oh my God, here it is.’ And (Dylan Larkin) and (Brock Nelson) did an unbelievable job in that penalty kill. So just glad we got out of that pickle I put us in.’
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Neither side could capitalize on their respective power plays and the gold-medal game went to the sudden-death, 3-on-3 overtime format. That’s when Hughes got the Americans out of a bind.
In the extra period, Hughes showed his grit, even without his missing teeth, by hustling down the ice on a U.S. rush, and taking a perfect pass from Zach Werenski to beat Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington 1:40 into overtime. When the puck hit the back of the net, U.S. men’s hockey claimed its first Olympic gold since 1980.
‘Jack ‘the Superstar’ Hughes. I don’t know how many (teeth) he lost, but it’s only fitting,’ Matthew Tkachuk said following the overtime win, which coincidently happened on the 46th anniversary of the ‘Miracle on Ice’ victory in 1980. ‘That’s a guy who is willing to give it all and what a huge goal.’
Hughes was all smiles, except for parts of those two missing teeth, coming off the ice.
Quinn Hughes said he’s ‘proud’ and ‘happy’ for his younger brother, who he dubbed ‘a fricking gamer. He’s always been a gamer. Just mentally tough, been through a lot, loves the game. An American hero.’ Quinn Hughes said it was ‘extra special for me to watch him do that,’ considering Hughes’ long journey back from injury.
‘There’s a bunch of idiots out there and they don’t know … what it’s like to get surgery for six months, not really feel good for 10 months and do that back to back,’ Quinn Hughes said. ‘And for him to just persevere and keep believing and just keep going no matter what happens. He’s a special guy and a special player.’
Quinn Hughes recalled the specific moment he realized his brother’s deep passion for the game and the lessons it teaches. He said all the highs and lows helped keep his brother even-keeled ahead of overtime. Hughes didn’t even appear to be nervous during the intermission before the extra period, Quinn Hughes added.
‘I remember when he got injured … he was just crushed. And a couple days after that he sent me a text message of what he wanted to say to the media in a post on Instagram. It was basically a long message about how much he loves the game and … just wants to play,’ Quinn Hughes said. ‘It was so raw and I told him to take some stuff out. But I remember thinking this guy just loves the game. He just wants to play it. And for him to make that impact, I’m not surprised because when I look around the room before overtime, there’s probably three or four guys that look at him, that guy’s not nervous. He wants to be that guy. And I felt that way about Jack.’
Head coach Mike Sullivan said Hughes is ‘a high stakes player’ for the team.
‘Jack had a terrific tournament from the first game on. The goals he scored were big-time goals,’ Sullivan said. ‘It’s an emotional rollercoaster when you go through these experiences and I just think Jack was at the center of a lot of the good things that happened for our team. … He brought his very best when these stakes were the highest. Tonight was a perfect example of it.’
Although Hughes is being hailed as a hero, he quickly shifted the focus away from himself and turned it to his teammates: ‘It doesn’t matter about the goal. It’s an unbelievable team. Unbelievable team win … (Connor Hellebuyck) stood on his head. … We’re so proud to win for our country. We’re gold medalists.’
But his teammates turned the spotlight back to Hughes because he’s deserving of it. When asked about his favorite moment from the 2026 Winter Olympics, the first to allow NHL players since 2014, Auston Matthews immediately said, ‘When Jack scored. That moment’s going to stick with me for a very, very long time.’
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