United States pulls off an all-time shocker over Canada in an instant classic

You know, I'm not one to deliver news about a game right after it happens... at 8:00 AM. I should be sleeping and dreaming about another Toshiba Plaza party for the Stanley Cup. Instead, I'm watching Olympic hockey for my country, watching the United States compete for a gold medal. Still, you have to wake up insanely early to capture a moment of glory.

Of course, a high-stakes game like this needed to go into overtime. No Sidney Crosby added to the drama, making this must-see television. For the Americans, that was a "golden" (waka waka) opportunity.

They defeated the Canadians in overtime, 2-1, on Jack Hughes's golden goal. Matt Boldy scored on a downhill play, rushing in to blast a puck past Jordan Binnington for a first-period goal. Cale Makar scored in the second period, tying the game for the Canadians.

But the main story was the netminding. What better way to make this a dramatic gold medal game than to have a faceoff between Binnington and Connor Hellebuyck? The St. Louis Blues netminder stopped 26 of 28 shots, while the reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner stopped 41 of 42 shots in a legendary performance.

Big moment for the United States in the second period

Let's look at a key moment in this game for a second. It involved Jake Guentzel and Charlie McAvoy taking consecutive penalties in the span of 28 seconds, leaving the United States on the penalty kill. Mind you, the Americans had killed off all of their penalties at the time. However, Canada had dangerous weapons such as Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini looming.

Still, that didn't deter the United States from making fantastic exits and pouncing on every possible puck. In turn, the five-on-three is killed off and the Americans endure the onslaught.

The Canadians might've outshot the Americans, 19-8, in the second period. But a combination of a strong penalty kill and Hellebuyck limited the damage to a mere Cale Makar goal. That was diligent work from an American team that was facing an onslaught from the scary Canadians.

The game also saw a double-minor from Sam Bennett after clipping Jack Hughes in the face with a high stick. The puck bounced off the American sticks and the Canadians got a power play shortly after, nullifying the power play. Nevertheless, the penalty gets killed and the Americans avoid a complete catastrophe.

How did the Vegas Golden Knights stars do in the gold medal game?

The gold medal game saw five Vegas Golden Knights represented, with three players for Team Canada and two for the United States. That's a ton of representation for a team like the Golden Knights. However, it was warranted since Vegas was cruising atop the Pacific Division heading into the Olympic break.

Still, the night was relatively quiet for Golden Knights stars. Not a single Golden Knight got a point in the gold medal game. Instead, the contest saw the bulk of the scoring come from the blue liners, with players like Makar, Devon Toews, Zach Werenski, and Quinn Hughes notching points.

Still, Gary Lawless summed it up best. Regardless of how the players did or who won, Vegas was coming out of this a winner.

Everyone hates a winner, I guess. It must suck to not have it good like the Golden Knights, huh? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm taking a nap for the next few hours because I deserve it.