Haliburton stunned by goalie Hellebuyck leading Team USA to gold

Connor Hellebuyck. James Lang-Imagn Images

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton stunned by goalie Connor Hellebuyck leading Team USA to Olympic gold

By Yagya Bhargava | Last updated Feb 22, 2026 4:50 PM ET

Connor Hellebuyck left everything on the ice Sunday.

Team USA beat Canada, 2-1, in overtime to win gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, and the American goalie didn't just pick up a medal. He earned every bit of noise that came after.

Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots and stayed locked in from start to finish. He carried the United States to its first Olympic gold since the 1980 Lake Placid Games. The stage was huge, the pressure never let up and he handled it.

His 41 saves broke the record for a men's gold medal game with NHL players in it. That passed Ryan Miller's 36 stops back at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

The performance didn't just swing a rivalry game. It grabbed attention way beyond hockey. Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was watching and couldn't believe what he saw.

"41 SAVES!? WHAT THE HELLE!!! Congrats to Connor Hellebuyck and @usahockey for bringing home the Gold!" Haliburton posted on X.

41 SAVES!? WHAT THE HELLE!!!
Congrats to Connor Hellebuyck and @usahockey for bringing home the Gold!
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) February 22, 2026

Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton was right to be shocked by Connor Hellebuyck's Olympic performance

Hard to blame Haliburton for being shocked. Hellebuyck came through when it mattered most. He stopped Connor McDavid on a second-period breakaway, then stretched across the crease to deny Devon Toews early in the third.

By the end of it, he was 5-0 with a 1.18 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage.

Games like that do not just happen. Hellebuyck has been the Winnipeg Jets' backbone all NHL season, and he has been building toward this for years.

He has won the Vezina Trophy three times (2020, 2024 and 2025) and picked up the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in 2025.

Yagya Bhargava

Yagya Bhargava began his professional journey as a chef, but his passion for sports eventually led him into sports journalism. He started writing in 2022 and has since published more than 5,000 articles covering the NFL and NBA. Along the way, he’s worked with outlets like The Cold Wire, Sportskeeda, The SportsRush, and The Big Lead

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