How Jack Hughes Ended up With a Bloody, Busted Grill at the Winter Olympics

Ice hockey has always been known as a bit of a rough sport. There’s the fighting, the high-speed, intense contact between players, and the occasional stick (or puck) to the face. In fact, it might just be one of the roughest sports in the world.

So when NHL New Jersey Devils player Jack Hughes was photographed with a busted and bloody grill during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, people weren’t exactly shocked, but they were curious about what happened to his teeth. Like, how did they get knocked out? Well, here’s how it all went down.

Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils lost two of his teeth during the third period of the 2026 Winter Olympics gold medal game on Feb. 22, 2026. He and Canada forward Sam Bennett were going for the puck, and as Bennett attempted to move his stick to grab it, it lifted far higher than it should have and smacked Hughes right in the mouth.

Hughes immediately went off the ice but later returned to make one of the most memorable moments in hockey (and Olympic) history. With just minutes left in the game and it heading into sudden-death overtime, Hughes made the winning goal, allowing the U.S. to secure gold, a victory that hadn’t been achieved since 1980. Needless to say, it was a pretty big game for U.S. hockey, and for Hughes’s mouth.

As for Bennett, he received a double minor for the high stick, and some even called him out for having “more penalties than points” on Reddit following the big win. Meanwhile, Jack didn’t seem too worried about his broken teeth after the game, as he was caught up in the winning moment. Hours later, he shared a picture on Instagram celebrating with his team and captioned the photo, “I love my country,” along with American flag emojis.

A hockey stick to the face isn’t uncommon in the sport. But how it happens should be taken into account when deciding whether a play was intentional or an accident.

In the case of Bennett hitting Hughes in the teeth during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, some viewers seem to think it may have been on purpose. Others argue it could have happened to anyone. “That was pure dirtbag. Guy should be ashamed of himself. So glad Hughes scored the winner,” one person wrote on Reddit, while another agreed, “100 percent with purpose.”

Someone else called out Bennett for the hit, commenting, “This is his second stupid penalty that almost cost us the game and maybe did because we were killing it in 5v5.”

While many viewers were in agreement that Bennett acted intentionally, others weren’t so sure. One person wrote that while he might be a liability, “that could have happened to anyone. 100 percent just the way the contact made him throw his stick up.” But after another replayed the moment, they added, “Looks a bit intentional now that I'm watching it.”

Regardless, it would seem Bennett owes Hughes an apology, though he doesn’t appear to have done so as of this writing.