SI:AM | A Golden Finish for Team USA at Milan Cortina Winter Games

Good morning! I’m Tyler Lauletta, filling in for Dan Gartland, who is taking a much-deserved post-Olympics break. Enjoy, Dan! If I had a gold medal, I would give it to you. Alas.

On to the newsletter.

In today’s SI:AM:

⛷️Winter Games future

🥇Team USA ends drought

🏀Pistons promise kept

Team USA men’s hockey gave the Olympics the ending it deserved

Two weeks of amazing Olympics action came to a close on Sunday, with the men’s hockey gold medal match between Team USA and Canada serving as the grand finale.

Between the stellar Games that preceded it and the intense, international rivalry on the ice, the match had a lot to live up to, and somehow, it delivered.

Matt Boldy put the Americans up early with a goal in the first period after slicing and dicing his way through the Canadian defense. That lead would hold through the first intermission. In the second, Team USA white-knuckled its way through an electric 5-on-3 penalty kill that felt miraculous in the moment. The U.S. was lucky not to concede there, as Canadian defenseman Cale Makar wristed a shot past goalie Connor Hellebuyck with just under two minutes remaining in the period.

Through most of the game, Canada felt entirely in control even though the score was knotted at 1–1. The hero of the day was Hellebuyck, who came through time and time again to keep his team in it, with stunning stops against Connor McDavid and Devon Toews.

Both teams had power play opportunities late in the third, but neither could convert, and the gold medal game entered the “riding a motorcycle out of a helicopter” portion of the evening.

Three-on-three hockey with a gold medal on the line. It was U.S. forward Jack Hughes who played the hero, netting the game-winner and sending gloves into the air. Team USA had won Olympic gold in men’s hockey for the first time since 1980.

While celebrating the win, Team USA took special care to acknowledge Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2024, by parading his jersey around the ice alongside the American flag and including his two elder children in the team photo. Tears were flowing.

“We wanted to play for him and make him proud and I feel like we did that,” said Zach Werenski, who was a teammate of Gaudreau’s with the Columbus Blue Jackets. “To see his family here supporting us, they would’ve been here with John. To see the kids here, having his jersey on the ice, it means everything. Super special moment.”

The win and the postgame scene really made for a perfect conclusion to the Winter Olympics—with triumph in sport and a celebration of the human spirit both on display in one moment.

Team USA leaves with gold medals. Hellebuyck and Hughes leave with a guarantee to never pay for another beer in their lives. And U.S. sports fans watching in person in Milan and on television back in the States leave the 2026 Winter Olympics on the highest of notes.

If anyone had any doubts about whether or not professionals should play in the Olympics, the past two weeks made clear that NHL players’ inclusion was a massive win for the league. What should prove to be the most-watched hockey game of the year was an overtime thriller loaded with All-Stars that ended with a finish no one will soon forget. As far as introductions to the sport go, it’s hard to think of a better entry point.

There will be a generation of hockey players who grow up with this Team USA squad as their heroes. I can’t wait to watch those young athletes chase gold in 2038.

The best of Sports Illustrated

In today’s Digital Cover, Ben Steiner asks what the future holds for the Winter Olympics as temperatures warm and the list of capable host cities diminishes.
Michael Rosenberg writes that, after 46 years and three gold medal games against Canada since 2002, the Americans finally broke Canada.
Pat Forde describes how Team USA remembered a valued teammate, Johnny Gaudreau, after winning the gold medal.
The Milan Cortina closing ceremony drew the curtain on a Winter Games that captivated the hearts and minds of the world. Andrew Gastelum reports that it reminds us that what we love about Italy will continue to shape the way we celebrate its culture.
Just over two years ago, Pistons owner Tom Gores promised Detroit fans there was a plan. With the Pistons now sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings, Chris Mannix sits down with Gores to discuss the team’s turnaround.
Steiner writes that Inter Miami’s opening weekend match against LAFC broke MLS attendance records.
Grey Whitebloom breaks down four things we learned from Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Tottenham.

The top five…

… images that will stick with me from Milan Cortina 2026:

5. Elana Meyers Taylor, the moment she realized she had won gold.

4. Amber Glenn after her redemption run in the women’s free skate.

3. Nazgul, the accidental Olympics dog.

2. Team USA men’s hockey celebrating gold.

1. Alysa Liu radiating pure joy. I think this shot by photographer Christophe Ena for the Associated Press is one of the best I have ever seen.