Fifteen years after Sidney Crosby’s iconic “Golden Goal” at the 2010 Olympics, Connor McDavid delivered a nearly identical moment that will always remain part of Canada's hockey lore.
The Edmonton Oilers captain scored 8:18 minutes into overtime to give Canada a 3–2 victory over the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday, securing another international gold on American ice with the final played in Boston.
“We just found a way,” McDavid said. “Means a lot to our group.”
The moment was not lost on Crosby, who was watching from the bench and seemed to see McDavid's goal coming before joining the celebrations on the ice along with his teammates.
“Really fitting,” Crosby said of McDavid’s winner, per The Canadian Press. “The level that he plays at, he's got that ability every single night to change a game. He's proven it time and time again. And he proved it in one of the biggest moments.”
The similarities between the goals are as striking as they are bizarre and uncanny, to the point both plays were separated by nearly exactly 15 years to the day, and the final score ending similar 3-2 outcomes both times.
Crosby did it on Feb. 28, 2010, and McDavid scored his goal on Feb. 20, 2025, with Sportsnet's Chris Cuthbert calling both goals for the Canadian broadcast of the game, per Awful Announcing.
Both players scored in overtime of a championship game and both did it against the United States, with Crosby’s goal in 2010 clinching Olympic gold in Vancouver.
Both received a pass from a winger—Jarome Iginla for Crosby, Mitch Marner for McDavid—before releasing a quick shot past an American goaltender.
"If that's not a passing of the torch, I don't know what is," Sportsnet's Faizal Khamisa wrote on X after the game . "Sidney Crosby in OT to beat the US in 2010. Connor McDavid in OT to be the US in 2025."
McDavid’s goal capped a final in which Canada twice erased Team USA leads. MacKinnon and Sam Bennett scored for Canada in regulation, while Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson found the net for the Americans.
Crosby, who has won every major international tournament in his career, sees McDavid as the next leader of Canadian hockey and made it clear following Thursday's victory.
"Couldn't be happier for him. Unbelievable player," Crosby said. "He's done a lot already in his career, but I'm sure it felt good for him. We needed this big time."
