Team USA Wins Gold: 2-1 OT Winner Over Team Canada

Team USA Men's won gold on Sunday morning in a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over Team Canada, with Jack Hughes scoring the golden goal. Shots on goal were 42-28, Canada advantage—an incredible performance for US goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. This marks the first time since the Team USA Men's won gold in 1980, to the day of the Miracle on Ice (which positioned the US to win gold against Finland).

The first period opened up with a great shift from Team USA as they played with an aggressive forecheck. Things slowed down a bit as both teams were kind of feeling each other out. It was a pretty even period for both sides (and here is where I wish there were advanced analytics to share). Matt Boldy opened up scoring for the Americans with an incredible goal. Seriously, check out the play below and tell me that wasn't impressive.

The second period was a bit nerve-wracking because Canada owned the middle frame. Mike Sullivan had his team play a little on the passive side, which they've done a couple of times in the tournament. There's no reason to play like you're protecting a one-goal lead. Team USA has some of the best scorers in the game and a blue line that can move the puck. Canada had a couple of great looks and could have put themselves up by a couple of goals with ease. It wasn't surprising that eventually Cale Makar scored the equalizer. Still, even with a 5-on-3 power play and a few wide-open nets, Canada couldn't create more than the one goal.

Among players who had a couple of good looks, Nathan MacKinnon could have scored when he had a wide-open net. Throughout the tournament, he's looked just a little off, and I wouldn't be surprised if he misses some time when the NHL resumes.

Team USA pressed back in the third period, and we saw their blueline activate much more. Quinn Hughes has been my favorite player to watch this entire Olympics. The way Hughes can move and create offense in the OZ is mesmerizing. It's no wonder he almost sealed it in the opening seconds of overtime.

Overtime was incredible. As I just mentioned, Quinn Hughes had that incredible look and almost ended the game. But it was his brother, Jack Hughes, who scored the golden goal. He has been one of the best players to watch this entire tournament.

Beyond the game itself, the Olympics were great fun. Going to be looking forward to the World Cup of Hockey (is that its official name?) and the next time we see NHL players on the international stage.