Hellebuyck was ‘beyond belief’ for Team USA in gold medal game, Richter says

MILAN -- Mike Richter, like everyone else, was flabbergasted when Connor Hellebuyck made the save heard around the hockey world, one of 41 by the latter in Team USA’s 2-1 overtime victory against Team Canada in the gold medal game of the men's hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at Santaguilia Arena on Sunday.

In the opening minutes of the second period, Canada defenseman Devon Toews crept down into the slot, a few feet from Hellebuyck. He had the puck on his stick and an open net in front of him. His quick shot should have resulted in a goal, but it didn’t.

Hellebuyck, facing toward the corner, where the puck had come from, reached behind himself and somehow hit the puck with the blade of his stick, leaving the Canadians still in search of a goal.

Richter, the goalie who backstopped the U.S. to a best-on-best win against Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, saw the save live, watching this generation of Americans try to win Olympic gold for the first time since 1980.

Asked for his thoughts on Hellebuyck’s sorcery, Richter shook his head and smiled. Then he invoked the names of some of the greatest goalies to ever play in the Olympics.

He mentioned Patrick Roy, a gold medal winner with Canada. He mentioned Dominik Hasek, whose acrobatics led the Czech Republic to an upset against Canada in the 1998 Olympics. He even mentioned Jim Craig, the iconic U.S. goalie for the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980.

“I watched it like 10 times on replay, and the key is he doesn’t give up on the puck,” said Richter, who won consecutive 5-2 games against Canada in 1996. “You look at any great goalie, the Patrick Roys, the Dominik Haseks … Hasek was amazing and people would say he got lucky; he wasn’t. He wouldn’t give up.”

Hellebuyck didn’t give up, even though the odds were stacked against him on the play. Richter knows the desperation of that moment, the split-second decisions, the trust in reflexes.

“It came to Toews pretty quick, and he did a good job of getting that shot off,” Richter said. “I don’t think he could have done much better at getting the shot off. It seemed like he had an open net, but not when you have a stick there so quickly.

“[Hellebuyck] did exactly what he had to do — he was in perfect position all night long. He wasn’t in great position for that, but then it is how much do you want it, and he wanted it.”

The U.S. fed off that save and Hellebuyck’s confidence throughout the game.

When it was over, defenseman Charlie McAvoy said he pegged the save on Toews as the turning point — not in hindsight, but in the moment.

“I was yelling down the bench, ‘That’s the one,’” McAvoy said. “I was joking it’s the ‘TSN Turning Point.’ That was the one I said, ‘Remember that!’ Then he made a couple of others.”

At times, Hellebuyck’s brilliance seemed to demoralize Canada’s players. They missed multiple opportunities, trying to be too fine around the net.

“You have to tip your hat to their goalie — he played great,” Canada forward Sam Bennett said. “We had a lot of looks. We generated what we wanted, but sometimes the goalie steals it, and he did a great job.”

When the Americans previously won Olympic gold, in 1980, Craig was the hero. In the iconic upset of the Soviet Union, on this very day 46 years ago, he made 36 saves in an improbable 4-3 victory against the best team in hockey.

“He channeled his Jimmy Craig tonight,” McAvoy said of Hellebuyck. “He was unbelievable. He had so many saves, time and time again.”

Richter watched that game as a 9-year-old. It shaped his love of hockey.

He says he thought about Craig in the second period of this game when the ice was tilted heavily in Canada’s favor.

Hellebuyck couldn’t save a rifled shot by Cale Makar that tied the game 1-1, but he stopped each of the 18 other shots he faced in the second. Richter says it was reminiscent of Craig, who held the fort while the Russians came at the Americans in waves.

“In that 1980 game, I think it was [ABC commentator] Ken Dryden said they are really relying on Jim Craig too much; he’s holding them in it,” Richter said. “But there are punches and counter punches in these games with two heavyweight teams like this.

“There’s going to be momentum. You are going to have goal posts and both teams did, missed opportunities. But your goalie better keep you in there until you get your legs, and he did that. The last half of the game, he was beyond belief.”

That brilliance paved the way for the U.S. to win Olympic gold for the first time in 46 years, and third overall.

“This gold is the nation’s goal — not just a Team USA goal, but the whole nation’s goal,” Hellebuyck said.