Team Canada’s players did not hide their frustration on the ice in Milan after settling for silver. The United States won the men’s hockey gold medal 2–1 in overtime on February 22, 2026, with Jack Hughes scoring the winner for Team USA.
The MacKinnon comment that set off the conversation
In the aftermath, Canadian star Nathan MacKinnon delivered a line that quickly spread online. “You be the judge of who was the better team today,” he said, in remarks carried by the Canadian Press and repeated by multiple outlets.
The quote became a flashpoint because it invited comparison between the scoreboard and the flow of play.
What happened in the gold medal game in Milan
The final unfolded as a tight, physical rivalry game at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Team USA struck first through Matt Boldy, and Canada tied it late in the second period through Cale Makar.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck kept the Americans level for long stretches. Reuters credited him with 40 saves in regulation, while ESPN reported 41 total saves as the U.S. reached overtime.
Canada carried stretches, but the U.S. owned the moment
Canada outshot the United States 42–28, a figure widely cited after the final.
Still, the U.S. converted the decisive chance. In overtime, Hughes finished a play created by defenseman Zach Werenski, who won the puck and fed a cross-ice pass. Hughes scored 1:41 into overtime.
The goal capped a night in which Hughes also took a high stick to the mouth earlier in the third period.
Clearing up the overtime rules used in the final
Some viewers assumed the game followed the NHL regular-season format. It did not.
The gold medal game used 3-on-3 hockey for a full 20-minute overtime period. If the tie had continued, teams would have played additional 20-minute 3-on-3 periods until someone scored. There is no shootout in the gold medal game.
The play that decided gold and what it means
The U.S. victory delivered its first men’s Olympic hockey gold since 1980, a milestone that framed much of the postgame reaction.
For Canada, the debate triggered by the MacKinnon comment reflects a familiar tension in elite tournaments. Shot totals and puck possession can shape perception. However, one overtime sequence can settle the medal. In Milan, that sequence went the Americans’ way, and it rewrote the rivalry’s latest chapter.