The 2026 Winter Olympics ended with a bang on Sunday, February 22, as Team USA men’s hockey pulled out a narrow overtime victory over Team Canada with a 2-1 final tally. It was all smiles for Team USA and plenty of frowns from Team Canada, and now, one Canadian hockey player is getting some unflattering news about his appearance at the Games.
“The drought is over,” Team USA shared on X after getting the close win. “ The men of USA Hockey are golden at the Winter Olympics for the first time since 1980.”
The game was an exciting one, and it was also physical. Early in the gold medal game, Team Canada’s Tom Wilson had a very hard hit against USA’s Dylan Larkin, but it was deemed legal, despite its impact.
“Oh my God, I saw him coming, and I know not to reach,” Larkin told TSN’s Mark Masters. “I saw him, and next thing I know, I’m getting smoked. It got me good. I haven’t got hit like that in a long time. I didn’t feel great after that, to be honest with you, but I feel amazing right now.”
So, Wilson didn’t get in trouble for the hit on Larkin during the game. But, he woke up to some bad news this week in the form of a record he set at the 2026 Olympics.
Team USA vs. Team Canada Hockey Draws High-Stakes Contest and Physicality
According to a report out on Tuesday, February 24, from the longstanding hockey publication Russian Machine Never Breaks, Wilson set a record at the Games. But, it wasn’t a good one, because he set the record for the most penalty minutes in a single Olympic tournament with NHL involvement.
“Wilson’s 29 PIMs in the Milan-Cortina Games topped Canada’s penalty minutes leaderboard by a wide margin,” Ian Oland of the outlet states in the feature. “The next-closest player was former Tampa Bay Lightning great Vincent Lecavalier, who posted 16 PIMs at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Wilson more than doubled everyone else.”
So, it wasn’t close, and Wilson easily holds the record now, according to the report. Most of those penalty minutes came during a 10-2 win over France on February 15. During that game, he got into a fight with France’s Nathan MacKinnon, marking the first fight at the Olympics since 1998, according to Olympic research.
“Wilson was assessed 27 penalty minutes for the fight: a two-minute roughing minor penalty, a five-minute major penalty, and a 20-minute game misconduct penalty,” Oland explains. “Both Wilson and Crinon were ejected as fighting is prohibited in Olympic play. According to IIHF rules, a game misconduct carries a 20-minute penalty, unlike in the NHL, where it’s 10.”
Praise for Team USA’s Jack and Quinn Hughes After 2-1 Olympic Win
Following the Team USA win over Team Canada, congratulations came in from around the world for the Hughes brothers, Jack and Quinn Hughes, and the whole team.
“After Team USA and Canada played to a 1-1 tie at the end of the regulation, the rivals went to overtime, and that’s where Hughes became a national hero,” Austin Nivison of CBS News stated in a story. “On an odd-man rush for the United States, Zach Werenski found Hughes cruising down the week side, and the New Jersey Devils star beat Jordan Binnington with a perfect shot to the far post.”
He added, “Connor Hellebuyck was outstanding in goal for the Americans, standing on his head to keep his team in the game long enough for Hughes to win it.”
Canada Hockey Player Gets Bad News After Coming Home From Olympics