Team USA Olympic Success Sends Inspiring Signal as NHL Season Resumes

Coming on the heels of Team USA’s success at the Winter Games in Milano Cortina, there very well could be an “Olympic bounce” felt by Americans in the NHL.

The NHL schedule on Wednesday features eight games. On Feb. 8, after the last game, the NHL paused for its players to participate in the Winter Olympics in Italy. For many, the highly anticipated showdown pitting Team USA and Team Canada in men’s hockey would be the main event of the 17 days of international competition.

The matchup between the two hockey-rich countries didn’t disappoint. The Americans and Canadians took the gold medal game on Sunday into overtime. Tied at one goal apiece after three periods, it was Jack Hughes who found the back of Team Canada’s net, assisted by goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and on a pass by Zach Werenski at 1:41 into overtime.

In a report at NHL.com on Sunday, Hughes was emotional when describing what it means to be part of a group that brought hockey gold to Team USA for the first time since 1980.

“I can’t believe this,” said Hughes. “I mean, it’s such an unbelievable game, USA–Canada. That’s such a good game. They have so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We wanted to go through Canada and beat them. It’s an unbelievable win for the Americans.”

Given that several members of Team USA, individually, this current NHL season, haven’t been skating and blocking pucks to levels that they have routinely done in the past, maybe winning the gold medal will give their game a boost.

Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 of 42 Team Canada shots in Sunday’s 2–1 victory, gets back to business on Wednesday in Vancouver, Canada.

Last season’s Hart Memorial Trophy winner (NHL MVP) and Vezina Trophy winner (top goaltender), Hellebuyck, is uncharacteristically struggling on NHL ice. He and his Winnipeg Jets teammates find themselves in seventh place in the Western Conference’s Central Division.

With 36 games in net this season, Hellebuyck has a record of 13–16–7. Winning the gold in Italy could be the boost in confidence to rebound Hellebuyck’s consistency on the ice and steer the Jets closer to a playoff position.

Hughes’s 3-on-3 skating goal in Team USA’s sixth Olympic games could be the personal motivator to jump-start his lackluster offense this NHL season.

Now in his seventh campaign with the New Jersey Devils, Hughes, 24, has tallied 36 points in 36 games. With just 12 goals scored so far this season, and with 25 games left on the regular schedule, New Jersey find themselves trailing 20 points in the standings behind Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes.

In his past four seasons, Hughes has scored 27, 27, 43, and 26 goals. To attempt to equal his average offensive output of recent seasons, Hughes is going to have to hustle. Having earned 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in six Olympic contests, if Hughes could keep his scoring momentum going, the Devils would be the better for it. Team USA scored 26 goals in six games.

“I hope this will inspire kids to put this jersey on someday, as it’s the best feeling in the world,” Dylan Larkin said to nbcolympics.com after the win. “What we did, nothing will ever match this.”

Larkin’s overall patriotic theme, speaking with the media after Sunday’s Team USA victory at Santaguilia Arena, also resonates with those who watched the game on TV and other viewing devices.

It was 46 years to the day—February 22, 1980—in Lake Placid that Team USA last won men’s hockey gold. Then, an all-amateur roster of Olympians coached by Herb Brooks, Team USA, became known as ‘Miracle on Ice’ after defeating the Soviet Union squad 4–3 in the medal round.

Team USA member Matthew Tkachuk echoed Larkin’s feelings that Sunday’s hockey game win is more than just a game.

“The United States of America, the greatest country in the world, deserves this because we’ve been knocking at the door for a long time, and we’ve got the game of hockey right now, and I’m so honored to be a part of this team”.

With spirits high and skills moving up and down the rinks with locomotive force, members of Team USA, once they returned to their NHL clubs, could easily feed off their enthusiasm.

Austin Matthews, who captained Team USA, returns to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sitting in seventh place in the Atlantic Division, 15 points behind first-place Tampa Bay, to get back in the playoff picture, a strong performance from Matthews is essential.

Matthews is currently 30 points behind his 78-point total last season and 59 points behind what he earned two seasons ago.  As Matthews goes, so do the Maple Leafs.

With both Team USA hockey units (men’s and women’s) taking home gold medals at the expense of Canadian teams, momentum couldn’t be stronger in the 50 states, and especially within the NHL.

Improvements in stick control, goalies making kick saves, and passes being perfectly made: this week’s NHL games have all the ingredients for being among the best played in recent memory.