MILAN \u2013 Connor Hellebuyck skated alone on the ice.<\/p>\n
Minutes earlier, the U.S. men\u2019s hockey team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in the gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics<\/a>. Hellebuyck, the American goalie, deserved more than a medal — and he got it.<\/p>\n The American fans roared.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re going to be talking about this performance for generations,\u2019\u2019 U.S. winger Brady Tkachuk said. \u201cIt was an all-time performance from a superstar at his position. It’s going to go down as one of the best performances of all time.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n In fact, Tkachuk compared Hellebuyck’s performance to one of the greatest of all time. That of Jim Craig, who faced 39 shots against the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics and helped lift the Americans to their 4-3 victory in the “Miracle On Ice.”<\/p>\n \u201cIt has to be right up there with Jimmy Craig, all the great United States goaltenders, I mean in NHL, whatever type of hockey, goaltender performance you want to talk about,\u2019\u2019 Tkachuk said. \u201cThat’s right up there.”<\/p>\n There was reason to believe Hellebuyck, 32, was capable of such a performance.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been a starter for the Winnipeg Jets since the 2016-17 season.<\/p>\n A three-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the NHL\u2019s top goaltender.<\/p>\n A winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL\u2019s most valuable player.<\/p>\n But U.S. winger Quinn Hughes mentioned the Americans\u2019 bus ride to the arena before they played Sweden in the semifinals.<\/p>\n \u201cHe fell asleep on the bus on the way to the Sweden game (semifinal),\u2019\u2019 \u00a0Hughes said. \u201cI was like, ‘We’re good with this guy. He’s very relaxed’. Since that moment, I knew he was going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n That day, he saved 28 of 29 shots as the Americans prevailed 2-1 in overtime.<\/p>\n It was a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Goalie Connor Hellebuyck has golden performance in US win vs Canada<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n