This one is going to stick with Nathan MacKinnon \u2014 and the internet \u2014 for some time.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s eventual 2-1 overtime win<\/a> in Sunday\u2019s gold medal men\u2019s hockey game at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n Tied at one apiece with roughly 10 minutes remaining in regulation, MacKinnon, the NHL\u2019s second-leading scorer of the season, had an opportunity to sail the puck past U.S. netminder Connor Hellebuyck, but misfired.<\/p>\n Nathan MacKinnon shot wide for Canada in the gold medal men\u2019s hockey game at the Olympics on Feb. 22, 2026. James Lang-Imagn Images<\/p>\n The moment signaled open season for X users, who not only set their sights on MacKinnon\u2019s missed opportunity but his buzzy postgame remarks<\/a>: \u201cYou be the judge of who was the better team today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGuys, my tv froze. Surely Nathan MacKinnon was easily able to score on this wide open net, right? Can anyone let me know what happened?\u201d one X user wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNathan Mackinnon missing this shot is going to haunt him for the rest of his life,\u201d another posted<\/a>.<\/p>\n A separate user added<\/a>: \u201cYou miss 100% of the shots you never take. Nathan Mackinnon misses 100% of the gold medal-winning shots he does take.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNathan McKinnon: You be the judge of who was the better team today. But also Nathan MacKinnon today,\u201d an X user wrote<\/a> along a clip of the Canadian\u2019s third-period miss.<\/p>\n MacKinnon, also on the ice in overtime during Jack Hughes\u2019 golden goal for Team USA, looked crestfallen as he received his silver medal in Milan, after Canada outshot the Americans, 42-28.<\/p>\n A dejected Nathan MacKinnon looks on following Canada\u2019s loss to the U.S. REUTERS<\/p>\n Nathan MacKinnon (c.) looks on after receiving his silver Olympic medal on Feb. 22, 2026. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a while before we get this chance back, it just sucks,\u201d said MacKinnon<\/a>, who scored four goals for Canada across the Winter Olympics. \u201c\u2026 Just couldn\u2019t bury those chances, I mean, we had so many good looks, really tilted that game, yeah, tough one.\u201d<\/p>\n