For only the third time in Olympic history, and the first time since 1980, Team USA would win gold in men's ice hockey. It was an exciting 2-1 overtime win, and Team USA was able to celebrate due in large part to their goalie, Connor Hellebuyck.
The Winnipeg Jets' goalie finished the game allowing only one goal on 42 shots, but the context of this performance is that he was shutting down some of the best players in hockey. The only goal scored by Canada was by Cale Makar, while Macklin Celebrini, who was incredible in the Olympics with five goals, Nate McKinnon, Mitch Marner, and Connor McDavid combined for 15 shots and were unable to beat Hellebuyck.
Pierre LeBrun compared Connor Hellebuyck's performance to Ryan Miller's in 2010 Olympics
Breakaway saves on McDavid and Celebrini in this game for Hellebuyck. He's channelling his inner Ryan Miller 2010 right now.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 22, 2026
While this was only Team USA's third gold medal in the event, they have gotten close a number of times previously. One of those times was in 2010 when they had Ryan Miller, who was the Buffalo Sabres goalie at the time, in net.
Similar to Hellebuyck, Ryan Miller had an incredible run during those Olympics and was one of the big reasons they had gotten to that point. They would ultimately lose in the Gold Medal Game to Canada 3-2 in overtime, but Miller had a great performance where he stopped 36 of 39 shots that game.
At the time, Miller was one of the best goalies in the game, having won the Vezina Trophy the year before with the Buffalo Sabres. He certainly showed it during the 2010 Olympics with just some incredible saves before Sidney Crosby scored the deciding goal in overtime.
Hellebuyck is in a similar situation as he is considered one of the best goalies in the game, as he has won the Vezina Trophy three times already in his career, including the last two.
However, this run in the Olympics helps him erase some of the criticism of not being able to win big games. In 2023, he allowed four goals to the Vegas Golden Knights in a series-deciding game, and then in 2024 allowed six goals to the Colorado Avalanche in a similar situation.
While Connor Hellebuyck might have been channeling Ryan Miller in the Gold Medal Game, this performance easily surpasses it and will go down as one of the best in Team USA history.