For a few moments, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck had the Garden spotlight to themselves.
A video montage congratulating the Rangers’ five Team USA representatives from the Winter Olympics — who all were part of the run in Milan that ended with the country’s first gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980 — had just finished playing Thursday, recognizing Miller, Trocheck, head coach Mike Sullivan (USA head coach), assistant coach David Quinn (USA assistant coach) and president and general manager Chris Drury (USA assistant general manager) — with Drury, the architect of this disappointing Rangers season and retooling, getting booed loudly during the proceedings.
The ceremony, something that has been replicated throughout the NHL as players rejoined their respective teams, lasted around four minutes before the Blueshirts’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers.
Sullivan’s speech from inside the American locker room pregame played on the scoreboard. Highlights from the gold-medal game, too. And then Trocheck and Miller were both shown receiving their gold medals.
MSG crowd chants ‘U-S-A’ as J. T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Mike Sullivan, Chris Drury & David Quinn get a standing ovation after Team USA brought home gold. 🥇👏 pic.twitter.com/3SL24ickeU
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) February 27, 2026
“The celebration before the game is a special moment for a lot of us,” Sullivan said. “Certainly proud of the accomplishment that the Olympic team was able to win the gold medal. We’re particularly proud of J.T. and [Trocheck] and the contribution that they had in helping us win over there. Those guys were instrumental in so many ways.”
Trocheck and Miller were key pieces of a penalty kill unit that went 18-for-18 throughout the tournament. Across the entire men’s hockey tournament, Trocheck finished with the third-highest faceoff percentage.
And Thursday, the celebration for Team USA’s medal — which stretched from Milan to Miami to the White House, morphing into a political controversy along the way — reached their home venue.
In a season where the Rangers’ focus has shifted to what’s next, Brendan Brisson became the latest to get a chance.
The 24-year-old and former first-round pick — part of the return in the March trade that sent Reilly Smith to the Golden Knights — was recalled from AHL Hartford to practice with the Blueshirts during the Olympic break and made his Rangers debut Thursday.
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He skated on the third line alongside Noah Laba and Conor Sheary while also logging time with the second power-play unit. Brisson, who previously appeared in 24 NHL games across two stints while with the Golden Knights, collected 13 goals and 23 points in 46 games with the Wolf Pack.
“I’m just gonna try to go out there [Thursday] and be good in the system, be good in the details of the game and if I get a chance, hopefully generate on it, produce on it,” Brisson told The Post before the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers.
Forward Brett Berard was assigned to the Wolf Pack and goaltender Hugo Ollas was assigned to ECHL Bloomington Bison before the game.
Gotham Sports App, which is the direct-to-consumer streaming branch of MSG and YES Networks, can now be purchased through Prime Video, the company announced. It serves as the streaming space for Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Yankees, Knicks, Nets and Sabres coverage.
