Jack Hughes won gold, then admitted what everyone saw during the gold medal game: Canada was better
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Tyler Ball
Feb 22, 2026 (9:47 PM)
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Photo credit: James Lang-Imagn Images
Tonight, Jack Hughes made the surprising admission that Team USA was clearly outplayed and only won the game due to the play of one specific player.
This morning, the 2026 Olympic Games concluded with a bang as Team USA took down Canada in a thrilling overtime game with a goal from Jack Hughes.
With the win, the United States won their first gold medal since 1980 but some fans and analysts believe the team was undeserving of the win after being outshot 42-28 in the game overall.
Even Nathan MacKinnon believed that they were the better team despite coming home with only a silver medal.
Now, Jack Hughes has spoken and admitted that while Canada was the better team, the United States came home gold medalists due to the play of Connor Hellebuyck.
Jack Hughes credits Connor Hellebuyck for Team USA win despite being outplayed
In his post game press conference, Jack Hughes gave all the credit to Hellebuyck for keeping Team USA in the game.
Canada probably outplayed us tonight, but Hellebuyck was the best player on the ice. He carried us the whole way.
This is a stunning statement from Hughes as winning teams and players generally do not admit they deserved to lose.
However, in Hughes case already having the gold medal around his neck he likely felt he had nothing to lose.
As for Hellebuyck, he finished the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record along with a 1.18 goals against average and a 0.956 save percentage.
Despite those impressive marks he was still snubbed for tournament MVP in favor of Connor McDavid.
As the season goes on, it will be fun to see if Hellebuyck can carry this momentum into success with the Winnipeg Jets.
Also read on HockeyLatest :
Jon Cooper calls out the Olympics for overtime rules claiming greed ruined the gold medal game
Jon Cooper calls out the Olympics for overtime rules claiming greed ruined the gold medal game
Previously on HockeyLatest