Colin Stephenson: Olympic glory hits home as Rangers take pride in USA victory
JT Miller of Team USA celebrates following winning the gold medal against Canada in the Winter Olympics on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
GREENBURGH – In the midst of all the gloom in their disappointing 2025-26 season, Sunday was a day where the Rangers could truly rejoice and feel proud.
They won the Olympic gold medal.
Well, it felt like they did, anyway. Head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant David Quinn were behind the bench, and J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck were on the ice for the U.S. team that beat rival Canada, 2-1, in overtime Sunday to capture the country’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980.
It was the biggest win the Rangers have had this season.
“Sweet game overall, and good ending, especially in overtime,’’ said excited rookie forward Gabe Perreault, who has played for the USA at the junior hockey level, and won the World Junior Championship with the Americans in 2025.
“I was cheering them on, and for them to win gold,’’ he said. “I mean, obviously they had a heck of a team, and they knew they had a good chance at it. But for them to finally do it is really cool for me, obviously, playing at the (U.S. National Team Development) Program and World Juniors and all that. Being able to watch them… it's pretty sweet that they won it.’’
The Rangers were scheduled to have practice at 11 a.m., but practice got pushed back when the gold-medal game went to overtime. The players took the ice about 20 minutes after New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal.
MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: U.S. Olympians Dylan Larkin, Matthew Tkachuk, Vincent Trocheck, Connor Hellebuyck, Jack Hughes and Brady Tkachuk celebrate onstage at the Winter House on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images for Winter House
“We're all sitting in the training room, and everybody's half-dressed, waiting to go on (the ice),’’ forward Jonny Brodzinski said. “We didn't know if it was going to be at the end of regulation or as soon as the game ended… It was good.’’
Brodzinski, an American from Ham Lake, Minn., said there was some trash talk between the Americans and Canadians as the Rangers watched the game together. Alexis Lafreniere, who hails from suburban Montreal, said there wasn’t too much.
“Not that much, honestly,’’ Lafreniere said. “It was a respectful watch.’’
Rookie center Noah Laba, an American from Northville, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, practiced on a line with Lafreniere and Toronto native Will Cuylle, but said he didn’t gloat after the U.S. victory.
United States head coach Mike Sullivan, top center, gets a hug from Brady Tkachuk after the United States defeated Canada in overtime to win the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Credit: AP
“No, not necessarily,’’ he said.
Though disappointed that Canada lost, Lafreniere called seeing Sullivan, Quinn, Miller and Trocheck win the gold “a win-win.’’
“You're happy for them now,’’ he said. “It was a good game. (And) Troch and J.T. played good, played hard. I’m really happy for them to get gold. It’s pretty exciting.’’
None of the players were alive when the U.S. beat the Soviet Union and went on to win the gold medal in 1980, but Brodzinski, 32, heard plenty of stories about it from his father, Mike, who played college hockey for the 1980 team’s coach, Herb Brooks, at St. Cloud State University in the mid-1980s.
“I grew up with my dad talking about him a lot, and then, I think watching the movie (“Miracle”), my dad's like, crying in the theater,’’ Brodzinski said. “Growing up seeing that, seeing like his emotion towards it, and then just watching that movie, seeing the love for the country and stuff like that, it's just cool to see.’’
That the final game was played between the USA and Canada made for a great storyline, even for players who aren’t from either country. Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, who is from Finland (which won the bronze medal), said the final was “very exciting,’’ and called the USA and Canada “obviously the two best teams in the tournament.’’ He enjoyed watching the game, he said, even though he didn’t really have a rooting interest.
“Obviously you root for ‘Troch,’ and ‘Mill,’ and ‘Sully,’ and ‘Quinny,’ ’’ he said. “Canada beat Finland (in the semifinals), so… you'd like to lose to the winners. But I wasn't really cheering for anyone, (except) for my teammates.’’
Sullivan, Quinn, Miller, Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad, who played for Sweden, will be back this week and the Rangers will resume their schedule on Thursday with a game at the Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers. So then they will get back to the drudgery of their 22-29-6 season.
But on Sunday, they didn’t have to think about the fact that they’re in last place in the Eastern Conference, or that their GM Chris Drury, is “retooling’’ the team, and not all of the current players will be on the roster beyond the March 6 trade deadline.
No, on Sunday, the Rangers could feel good for a day, and simply enjoy their biggest win of the year.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
