USA vs. Canada, Olympic gold medal live blog

MILAN -- Welcome to the men’s hockey gold medal game of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 between the U.S. and Canada.

NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price is inside Santagiulia Arena to provide all the sights, sounds and action from this massive game.

10:53 a.m. ET

And that's it.

Jack Hughes scores 1:41 into overtime, and the USA has won the gold medal.

Quinn Hughes looked like he had a chance early, but Binnnington made a huge glove save.

Just an unbelievable hockey game, and a fitting finish to this men's hockey tournament.

Just a massive win for the U.S. and a brutal loss for Canada, but once we got to overtime, it was anyone's game.

That's it from Milan.

For those of you dealing with the snow, be careful out there.

Thanks for reading along and be sure to keep watching hockey when the NHL resumes on Wednesday.

10:45 a.m. ET

Start of overtime is three minutes away.

Remember, it's 3-on-3 until someone scores, with an intermission every 20 minutes, but I don't know if we get that far.

These guys are so skilled, and so fast, you have to figure this is going to end pretty quickly.

But who knows. In 2010, it was Sidney Crosby who scored the golden goal, but he's not in uniform today.

So who will it be?

You can bet that whenever Quinn Hughes gets the puck, the whole arena is going to hold its breath.

Same for Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini.

This is just unreal.

10:33 a.m. ET

And we are going to overtime.

Just unreal.

Macklin Celebrini had multiple chances on the Canada power play, but couldn't put one home.

No we go to 3-on-3 for 20-minute periods until someone scores.

Fitting. Eh?

Both teams had their chances to score in regulation.

The U.S. had a four-minute power play and then Canada had its own power play.

Now we bring out the Zamboni and take a much-needed break before overtime starts.

I can't imagine what it's like back home watching this.

What fun!

10:27 a.m. ET

The U.S. power play ends with 49 seconds left on the second minor when he hits Bo Horvat with a high stick, so it's 4-on-4 for 49 seconds, and then Canada gets a power play with 3:23 left.

Oh man, this is nuts.

The DJ plays "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam to try to calm everyone down. Ha.

10:23 a.m. ET

The U.S. is going to a power play with 6:34 left.

Jack Hughes gets high sticked by Sam Bennett behind the goal. It's a four-minute power play.

Canada is not happy.

10:19 a.m. ET

Talk about your close calls.

Canada's Nathan MacKinnon appeared to have an easy goal with an open net staring at him, but he seemed to rush the shot and hit the side of the net.

Wow.

The "Canada, Canada" chants are getting louder as get under nine minutes left in regualation.

You can cut the tension with ... well, you know.

The U.S. appeared to have too many men on the ice, but it wasn't called.

After that, a mad scramble took place in front the the U.S. net, but it somehow stayed out.

Now the "USA, USA" chants are going.

I can't imagine how this game is playing back home on TV, but in here, it's just complete mayhem.

10:13 a.m. ET

If it seems like Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid are always out there, it's because they are.

The Canada forwards are double-shifting as coach Jon Cooper goes for the kill here.

But Connor Hellebuyck is not letting it happen even though Canada is outshooting the U.S. 28-9 since the start of the second period.

I'm getting a bit emotional here because they just did the last wave of the Olypmics here.

I'm gonna miss it.

10:10 a.m. ET

This is turning into the Connor Hellebuyck show. The US goalie is keeping his team in the game, making big save after big save.

He just stoppped Macklin Celebrini, who, at the end of a shift, had a breakaway, was gassed. He still got the shot off but Hellebuyck stopped him.

He has 34 saves and we still have 15 minutes left here.

The DJ played "I Will Follow" by U2, maybe he's telling the U.S. it should follow Hellebuyck's lead and pick things up here.

10:04 a.m. ET

It feels like the U.S. is hanging on here, just happy to ice the puck out of the zone.

The DJ plays "Panama" by Van Halen, but it certainly sounds like they could be singing "Canada." Maybe Weird Al should try that.

Canada came within inches of taking the lead, but Connor Hellebuyck made a huge stick save on Devon Toews in the goal crease to keep it tied.

Remember that one, kids.

10 a.m. ET

Here we go.

The third period has begun and it's starting to feel like next goal wins.

Canada has really carried the play since the middle of the second period, and have outshot the U.S. 27-16.

The U.S. needs to show some pushback early to back up Canada a bit.

By the way, Canada coach Jon Cooper is double-shifting Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, two of the best players in the world.

He can sense how tight this game is and how one goal will likley be the difference.

Enjoy this last period, everyone.

9:54 a.m. ET

Turns out that Faber shot hit Jake Guentzel and then the far post, not both posts.

Again, the margins are so razor thin here. The U.S. just misses breaking the tie at the end of the second period, but we head to the third tied 1-1.

I'm really going to miss all these fun scoreboard games they play here in Milan, especially the freeze one.

Maybe miss is too strong, but I have enjoyed the game presentation apsect of this Olympics.

Just a reminder, unlike the Miracle on Ice, where the players came back a few hours later to get their gold medals, after this one the medals will be handed out, so the losing team will have to watch the winners get their gold medals right in front of them.

How's that for motivation over the next 20 minutes.

We have about 5 minutes before the period starts.

9:43 a.m. ET

We have at least 20 minutes to go here in Milan, where the U.S and Canada are tied 1-1 after two periods. Canada is outshooting the U.S. 26-15, and it certianly feels as if the tide has turned here.

Brock Faber nearly scored in the final second of the period, but his wrist shot from the point hit both posts and came out. SO CLOSE.

Canada looks like it has found its legs while the U.S. is on its heels.

They will both have about 18 minutes to figure it out before the third period starts, but not before some argy bargy in front of the U.S. bench.

Oh man, rest up everyone, this third period is going to be epic.

9:40 a.m. ET

Now it's 1-1. It was only a matter of time before Canada scored and Cale Makar finally gets it, beating Connor Hellebuyck with a wrist shot with 1:44 left in the second.

It was a perfect shot from one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and now the U.S. has to find its game. It's been sitting back and practically waiting for Canada to score.

Oh boy, buckle up now kids.

9:37 a.m. ET

I'm getting reports from all over the East Coast of people watching this game.

My brother is at a bar on the Jersey Shore with a huge group, and another guy I know is at famed hockey bar, Hattricks in Tampa.

It's so cool to have everyone watching hockey together.

An amazing sport and an amazing game.

The Canadians have taken this game over, outshooting the U.S. 23-15, but they can't get one past Connor Hellebuyck.

He's playing really well and the U.S. is keeping Canada to the outside.

As we get some more argy bargy with a Tkachuk -- shocking I know -- the DJ plays "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated). That's two Offspring songs today.

9:30 a.m. ET

Just over five minutes left in the second period, and Matt Boldy's first-period goal is still the only one we've seen so far today.

Crazy game, lots of action, but only one goal.

We had a scary moment here where Tom Wilson went sliding into the boards on an icing call and Charlie McAvoy had to jump over him -- on skates.

I can barely jump in sneakers.

During the Connor McDavid breakaway I got a little excited and grabbed Shawn Roarke's arm. He asked me if he was in my way or if I just got excited. I told him he was in my way (lying).

Luckily, JF, who is on my left side, kept to himself, but he's nervous, I can tell.

9:25 a.m. ET

The "USA, USA" chants were getting louder during the two-man penalty kill and that's what it was, a penalty kill despite the U.S. being down two men for 1:33.

The DJ plays "The Kids Are Alright" by the Offspring after that, and yes they are. If the U.S. wins this game, that could be the moment fans talk about forever.

All the talent Canada has on the power play and no goal. That could be the moment where Sidney Crosby's absensce is felt.

9:20 a.m. ET

We have 10:33 left in the second period, the U.S. leads 1-0 on a sweet goal by Matt Boldy, but Canada is applying the pressure.

Connor McDavid just had a breakaway but was stopped by Connor Hellebuyck.

But Canada is now going on the power play with Jake Guentzel in the box. Now, it's a two-man advantage with Charlie McAvoy going off for hooking.

Canada will have a 5-on-3 for 1:33 here. Huge moment.

It really feels now like the next goal is massive. With how the U.S. can play defense and how Hellebuyck is playing, a two-goal lead may be hard for Canada to overcome against the U.S.

The "Let's Go Canada" chants are getting louder and maybe a little more desperate.

9:14 a.m. ET

Canada is once again applying serious pressure to start the second, with one shot trickling through Hellebuyck, but squirting wide.

There are battling "USA, USA" and "Canada, Canada" chants going on.

The action has picked up and Binnington made his biggest save of the game on Brock Nelson to keep it a 1-0 game.

The tension in here is palpable.

Just an unreal atmosphere.

9:08 a.m. ET

Some line notes here for Canada:

Nathan MacKinnon opened the second period on a line with Mitch Marner and Mark Stone to start the second period.

Then out came the line of Tom Wilson, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand.

When Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini came out, MacKinnon was out there with them, so MacKinnon is double shifted to start the period.

Why not? He's an absolute force out there.

9:04 a.m. ET

The second period has begun, it's past 9 a.m. on the East Coast, so everyone should be awake by now.

We have 40 minutes to go, the U.S. leads 1-0, but it certainly feels like we are going to see more goals today.

They just did something in here called Giant Karaoke and had everyone sing "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Every time, EVERY TIME, I hear this song I think of the montage in Rocky 3 where Rocky and Mr. T are training side by side.

Another Oscar-worth performance (Mr. T, I mean) that went unnoticed.

As we said earlier, next goal is huge.

Not as clutch as Dan Rosen, who delivered dessert to the press box.

It's a press box, by the way, that I'm not allowed to leave -- I'll explain later.

Canada comes on the ice and there is more Rush -- this time "Spirit of the Radio."

We clearly know who the DJ is pulling for here.

8:57 p.m. ET

While the organist played "Blinding Lights" by the Weeknd during the intermission, I went over the NHL media site and found this interesting notes from our crack NHLStats crew.

Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild, who opened the scoring, is one of the NHL’s nine 30-goal scorers returning to action when the 2025-26 regular season resumes later this week (62 points; 32 goals, 30 assists in 54 games).

Quinn Hughes had an assist on Boldy’s game-opening goal and tied Ryan Suter (seven assists in 12 games) for the second-most career assists by an American defenseman during the Olympics with NHL players. Brian Rafalski (13 points; five goals, eight assists 17 games) has the most.

Quinn Hughes collected his seventh assist of Milano Cortina 2026 and established a new mark for the most assists by an American in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players.

Quinn Hughes improved his totals this tournament to eight points (one goal, seven assists in six games), which tied the most points by a defenseman in a single Olympic Games with NHL players. He matched Erik Karlsson (eight points; four goals, four assists in 2014 with Sweden) and Rafalski (eight points; four goals, four assists in 2010 with U.S..

Boldy (6:00) scored the fastest goal by any team to start a gold medal game in an Olympic Games with NHL players, ahead of Team USA’s Tony Amonte (8:49 in 2002).

Team Canada looks to become the third team to overcome a deficit to win the gold medal game in an Olympics with NHL players. The country also did so in 2002 vs. Team USA, and Team Sweden rallied to defeat Team Finland in 2006.

8:49 a.m. ET

The U.S. is cleary trying to get to Canada goalie Jordan Binnington by throwing everything to the net, even from sharp angles on the goal line and such.

He's been great in this tourmanent, but the U.S. is trying to make him work for every save.

The U.S. nearly scored at the end of the first period after Canada defenseman Drew Doughty had a bad turnover.

The shots were 8 apiece in the first, with the Canada carrying the play early and the U.S. coming on late.

It's 1-0 USA after one and you can already sense an uneasy feeling from the Canada fans here.

Dan Rosen is the hero for the moment, he's heading downstairs between periods to get some soft drinks and maybe a desert or two.

8:41 a.m. ET

And now the U.S. goes on the power play.

Shea Theodore goes to the box for hooking and with 2:57 left, the Americans have a chance to make it 2-0.

The organist just did a nice rendtion of "The Final Countdown" and the DJ just played the drum part from "Tom Sawyer."

As Shawn Roarke said, "you can't play any Rush." It's like the DJ is trying to get Canada going here.

8:37 a.m. ET

Canada is making its push, but Connor Hellebuyck and the U.S. are holding firm.

Canada went to the line of Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Tom Wilson to try to make something happen.

They got some pressure, but nothing substantial. A few moments later, Brady Tkachuk had a bad turnover in the USA zone, but nothing came of it.

Still, Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini and Nathan MacKinnon are flying all over the ice, and it feels like a matter of time before they get one.

But Hellebuyck looks great.

We had another power break, and it's still 1-0 USA with 4:49 left in a very high-paced first period.

8:30 a.m. ET

Another POWER BREAK

Team USA has the 1-0 lead with 8:36 left in the first, but Team Canada is carrying the play here.

Much of the action has taken place in the US end with Canada seeminly firing away at Connor Hellebuyck, who already has faced seven shots.

Now they are playing Lazy Mary here and I'm reminded again of the Mets. I just can't get away from them.

If they play the Curly Shuffle sometime during this game, I'm outta here.

I know this is stating the obvious, but the next goal - assuming there is one - is huge.

If the U.S.A can go up 2-0, it could be along day for Canada.

If Canada ties it, it could be a long day for all of us, if you know what I mean (I mean, overtime).

8:26 a.m. ET

We have our first POWER BREAK, which is what they call it when the shovelers hit the ice.

Again, it's 1-0 Team USA with 11:29 left in the first thanks to a gorgeous goal by Matt Boldy.

Corretion on his goal -- he split Devon Toews and Cale Makar -- which is not easy to do.

What a huge play and a huge opening salvo in this game.

It was the first shot on goal on Jordan Binnington.

Meanwhile, Canada has four shots on goal and Connor Hellebuyck looks sharp.

8:21 a.m. ET

Team USA scores on its first shot on goal, and it's Matt Boldy who scores exactly six minutes into the game, splitting Devon Toews and Drew Doughty to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.

What a goal, what a start for the U.S.

We had our first massive hit of the game, with Canada's Tom Wilson flattening Dylan Larkin.

Fortunately, Larkin is OK.

And if you thought this is some exhibition between pro NHL players, think again. These boys will do whatever it takes to win this game and the gold medal.

Data Visualizations: Milano Cortina 2026 Men’s Hockey

8:17 a.m. ET

We already had some argy bargy in the at the 2:01 mark after Canada looked to have a good shot to score, but a pass across the slot was deflected by a US defenseman and Connor Hellebuyck gobbled it up.

We have dueling "USA, USA" and "Canada, Canada" chants here. The atmosphere is unreal.

The fans are reacting to every pass, every shot, every time the puck gets near the crease.

Hellebuyck just made another big save on Macklin Celebrini. Could you imagine being 19 and playing in this game?

I'm more than three times older than that kid and I'm nervous.

8:12 a.m. ET

Puck dropeth.

It's offically on

The Canadian players came out for warmups first and Team USA about a minute later.

There were "USA, USA" chants before they came out, but then some boos.

"Kickstart My Heart" played before the face-off, then the PA announcer asks everyone, "Are you ready for hockey?"

They are. We all are.

Lots of "USA, USA" chants here early.

8:06 a.m. ET

The puck is about to drop for one of the most anticpated hockey games in years.

The crowd -- which is very pro Canada -- is ramped up here in Milan, and I'm sure there are bars all over the U.S. and Canada that opened early for people to gather and watch this.

I've seen a lot of complaining on social media about the 8:10 ET start time, but it's 2:10 p.m. here, which is perfect.

Every previous U.S. game here started at 9:10 p.m. and it was hard me and Shawn Roarke to get our beauty sleep when we had to be at the rink early the next day for the next slate of games.

I'm not complaining, just explaining.

Plus, look at this way -- the early start helps everyone on the East Coast get the game in before the blizzard hits.

So watch the game, have a few cocktails, take a postgame nap and and then start shoveling.

7:50 a.m. ET

Warmups are over, the players are heading back to their rooms for last-minute preparations.

Brad Marchand was the last player off the ice, seemingly waiting for Auston Matthews -- the last USA player on the ice -- to leave.

The good news for Team USA is Tage Thompson looks good to go. He left the semifinal against Slovakia early, but he was on the ice for warmups and looks fine.

Again, if you're just waking up, no Sidney Crosby for Team Canada.

They just played "Narco" by Timmy Trumpets and I'm reminded once again Edwin Diaz is no longer a Met.

For most of these guys, this is the biggest game, to this point in their careers, they will play.

15 members of Team Canada have won the Stanley Cup -- that's pretty big too -- while three members of Team USA have won the Cup.

There has been a lot of talk the past few days about the "Miracle On Ice." What's really crazy is that none of these guys playing today were even close to being born when that happened. Most of them know the movie "Miracle" more than they know the actual game.

Speaking of "Miracle," Kurt Russell should've won an Oscar for that movie. No doubt.

It goes to my belief that the Oscars should wait like 5-10 years before they award that sort of stuff for a certain year, not right away, to see what films and performanaces stick.

Here were the other best actor nominees that year - Jamie Foxx, Ray (he won); Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda; Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator; Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby

I mean, give me a break. Is anyone in America today thinking about Leo's work in The Aviator? No.

I have made my point.

We're 20 minutes away. I hope everyone is awake and I'm not putting anyone back to sleep.

7:35 a.m. ET

The players are on the ice for warmpups, the USA in white and Canada in red -- just in case your sleepy eyes can't tell who is who.

Right before they took the ice, "Big Gun" from AC/DC played. If I'm not mistaken, that song is from the soundtrack of that Arnold classic, "Last Action Hero."

There seemed to be a lot of boos when the USA players took the ice. Hmm.

The Canada players got a big cheer. It's clearly a Canada crowd for this game.

As you may know by now, unless you had a late night on the East Coast prepping for the storm of the century, Sidney Crosby will not play for Team Canada today.

As the start of the game gets closer, you can really feel the buzz in here.

Well, I can. Not sure if you can.

The DJ here and Dieter the organist are on fire already.

Around 6:47 a.m. Eastern Time, the DJ played "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears.

Ha, you can certainly say that about Team Canada and Team USA today.

Before that, he played "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers. Ain't that the truth.

When we walked into the arena, the organist played "Take the Long Way Home," by Supertramp.

That's is also fitting because due to the big blizzard about to hit NYC, the NHL.com crew will not be back home until sometime Tuesday night.

Oh well.

7 a.m. ET

Good morning, world. I hope everyone has had their coffee, tea or whatever jolt of caffeine needed to wake up and get ready for this hockey showdown.

We all just got a jolt here with the news that Sidney Crosby will not play for Team Canada today. He skated yesterday, but the lineups were just posted on IIHF website and no Sid.

I still don't that will take away any energy for this game. I’s the United States vs. Canada for Olympic gold.

On our way to the arena today, we saw plenty of fans pregaming at some local eateries. I have to say, from what I saw, there appears to be a lot more Canada fans, but we'll see once the doors open.

Will Canada continue to be the best of the best on the world’s biggest stage, or can the U.S. finally win gold in an Olympics with NHL players?

It’s the matchup pretty much everyone in North America has dreamed of since the end of the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.

That Sid news is really the only lineup change we are expecting.

The fans are filing into the arena, and we have about an hour to go before puck drop.

Buckle up.