This one is going to stick with Nathan MacKinnon — and the internet — for some time.
The star Canadian center found himself on the receiving end of an onslaught of painful reminders of his wide-open miss in the third period of Team USA’s eventual 2-1 overtime win in Sunday’s gold medal men’s hockey game at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Tied at one apiece with roughly 10 minutes remaining in regulation, MacKinnon, the NHL’s second-leading scorer of the season, had an opportunity to sail the puck past U.S. netminder Connor Hellebuyck, but misfired.
The moment signaled open season for X users, who not only set their sights on MacKinnon’s missed opportunity but his buzzy postgame remarks: “You be the judge of who was the better team today.”
“Guys, my tv froze. Surely Nathan MacKinnon was easily able to score on this wide open net, right? Can anyone let me know what happened?” one X user wrote.
“Nathan Mackinnon missing this shot is going to haunt him for the rest of his life,” another posted.
A separate user added: “You miss 100% of the shots you never take. Nathan Mackinnon misses 100% of the gold medal-winning shots he does take.”
“Nathan McKinnon: You be the judge of who was the better team today. But also Nathan MacKinnon today,” an X user wrote along a clip of the Canadian’s third-period miss.
MacKinnon, also on the ice in overtime during Jack Hughes’ golden goal for Team USA, looked crestfallen as he received his silver medal in Milan, after Canada outshot the Americans, 42-28.
“It’s going to be a while before we get this chance back, it just sucks,” said MacKinnon, who scored four goals for Canada across the Winter Olympics. “… Just couldn’t bury those chances, I mean, we had so many good looks, really tilted that game, yeah, tough one.”
Hellebuyck, the NHL’s reigning MVP, had a mesmerizing 41 saves against 42 shots en route to Team USA’s first gold medal in men’s ice hockey since 1980.
MacKinnon, the Avalanche’s first-overall pick in 2013, has tallied 40 goals and 53 assists through 55 games this year.
The Avalanche visit the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday night.