USA vs. Canada hockey: How Jack Hughes traded two front teeth for a Winter Olympics gold medal

MILAN — Jack Hughes skated to the penalty box late in Sunday’s third period, panicked that he had cost him and his teammates the biggest game of their lives.

The American forward had just accidentally hit a Canadian player in the face with his stick while fighting for a loose puck in the corner. That meant Canada’s lethal power play unit would have the chance to score a go-ahead goal in the final minutes of regulation.

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“I pictured myself on Barstool being the guy that America hates because Canada scores on the power play,” Hughes said. “I was like, Oh my God, here it comes.”

Thankfully for Hughes, he will be every American media outlet’s lead story on Sunday for very different reasons. The 24-year-old scored one of the legendary goals in American hockey history during overtime on Sunday, a rocket from the left faceoff circle to win the first U.S. men’s hockey gold medal since a bunch of unheralded amateurs pulled off the “Miracle on Ice” 46 years ago.

The golden goal from Hughes capped an Olympics that began with him on the United States’ fourth line and ended with him blossoming into one of the team’s frontline stars. Hughes rebounded from a poor 4 Nations Face-Off last year and earned the trust of American coach Mike Sullivan, tying for the team lead with seven points at the Olympics, including a combined three goals in the semifinals and gold-medal match.

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“Jack was at the center of a lot of the good things that happened for our team,” Sullivan said. “He’s a high-stakes player and he brought his very best when the stakes were highest. Tonight was a perfect example of that.”

His mouth bloody and two of his front teeth missing after taking a stick to the face earlier in Sunday’s game, Hughes climbed over the boards and reentered the game on a line change just over a minute into 3-versus-3 overtime. Almost immediately, Hughes encountered the most fearsome sight in hockey for a forward: Canadian superstar Connor McDavid charging at him with the puck on his stick and no one else between him and the U.S. goal.

McDavid, Hughes said, is “the best player in the world — maybe ever.” There wasn’t much the American thought he could do besides retreat toward his own goal and pray McDavid wouldn’t have enough space to blow by him and get a clean shot off. Much to Hughes’ relief, that’s exactly what happened. American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck lashed the puck away from McDavid before he could shoot and the game continued.

Turning toward Sullivan during his postgame news conference, Hughes joked, “You probably were loving that, huh? McKinnon coming down at me!”

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“You did a great job defending him!” Sullivan responded.

Immediately after that, the U.S. rushed up ice, Zach Werenski making a sloppy pass to Hughes and Hughes poking it away from Cale Makar and through the neutral zone. Werenski then made what turned out to be a critical play, charging after the loose puck, outbattling Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon to control it and then setting up Hughes with a perfect pass.

From there, it was all Hughes. He fired a shot past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington, sending the Americans spilling over the boards in celebration as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” blared over the loudspeakers in the background.

The way Binnington read Hughes’ eyes and body positioning, he expected a high-glove shot. Hughes went five-hole instead.

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“That’s hockey,” Binnington said afterward. “You’ve got to give him credit.”

To win gold was a dream fulfilled for the American players. To do it at Canada’s expense made it all the more satisfying and cathartic.

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.

When the U.S. and Canada survived some knock-out round scares to advance to Sunday’s gold-medal match, it was the showdown that the hockey world has waited a dozen years to see on an Olympic stage. Bars opened before sunrise in hockey-loving cities across the U.S. Fans 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.

American fans can thank Connor Hellebuyck for the U.S. even forcing overtime. The three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender withstood three periods of target practice from Canada’s all-world forward corps. Hellebuyck made incredible save after incredible save against constant Canadian pressure, turning away 41 of the 42 shots he faced.

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In the opening minutes of the third period, Hellebuyck robbed Devon Toews of a go-ahead goal at the last possible moment, reaching behind his back with his stick to keep the Canadian defenseman’s point-blank shot from crossing the goal line. McDavid and Macklin Celebrini both had clear breakaways during the game, but Hellebuyck denied both of them with pad saves.

“He stole the game for us,” U.S. forward Tage Thompson said. “I mean, those saves were outrageous.”

“That guy should never have to buy a drink in the state of Michigan,” U.S. forward Dylan Larkin added.

That all set the stage for Hughes to go from a great player to immortal with a single shot.

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Earlier in the game, when Sam Bennett’s stick slammed into his mouth, Hughes remembers looking down at the ice and seeing two of his teeth.

“I was like, here we go again,” Hughes said. “The last time that happened, it wasn’t very fun.”

Now it feels like a trade he’d make anytime. He lost two teeth. He gained Olympic gold.