Jack Hughes scores OT winner in 2-1 Olympic gold, Team USA flight diverted NYC to Miami
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Daniel Lucente
Feb 23, 2026 (1:35 PM)
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Jack Hughes wins Olympic gold, then a winter storm boots Team USA's flight from NYC to Miami, the kind of twist that feels unreal.
Sunday in Milan ended with the United States beating Canada 2-1 in overtime for men's hockey gold.
Hughes scored the winner 1:41 into 3-on-3, and the bench went full chaos.
The moment had bite, too, because he'd just lost teeth earlier and still came back hunting.
Connor Hellebuyck held the line when the rink tilted, turning aside wave after wave.
Now comes the funny part, the part that only sports can write.
A winter storm near New York forced travel plans to change, and the post-gold route flipped from NYC to Miami.
That note popped up here, and it instantly felt like a sign.
Miami is not subtle, and neither is a hockey team that just ended decades of waiting.
You can already picture the polos, the shades, and the fresh gold hanging over hoodies.
No word yet as to whether this delay will cause players to miss some NHL action.
Jack Hughes turns Team USA into a Miami headline
If you're a USA hockey fan, you're probably laughing and shaking your head at the same time, because of course this is how it would go.
There's a clean hockey angle here, even in the travel mess.
This group played fast through the neutral zone and stayed stubborn around the blue line when Canada pushed.
That's why one shot in overtime was enough.
Hughes has 12-24-36 in his NHL season so far, and he brought that same attack mentality to the biggest stage.
The Miami reroute just adds another chapter to a run that already feels like a movie.
And when the NHL season wakes back up, that emotional tank might still be half full.
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