It took a New Jersey Devil to get gold for Team USA.
Devils forward Jack Hughes netted the game winning goal 1:40 into overtime as Team USA defeated Team Canada in the Gold Medal Game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Hughes who missed a month this year for the Devils, netted the game winner despite having one tooth knocked out. His effervescent smile with a bloody and broken tooth with the stars and stripes draped over his shoulders is going to be a photo that will live on for decades to come.
Don't believe me? Think about it.
Whenever a seminal moment happens and the U.S. flag is involved it is guaranteed to be part of immortality. Think of the images from Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iowa Jima to the planting of the flag on the surface of the moon. The artwork of Washington's crossing of the Delaware; the raising of Old Glory by firefighters on 9/11, and even the moment President Trump raised his fist in the air after a bullet grazed his ear.
This photo will join that group.
The victory was the first US Gold Medal for men's hockey in 46 years, the last coming in 1980 during the Miracle on Ice.
The victory was also the US's second Gold Medal win in hockey this year, as the ladies won the medal a few days earlier.

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