Did the Blueshirts have a special guest in attendance, or was that Pavel Buchnevich sporting an official USA Hockey jersey as he took line rushes with Mika Zibanejad and Vladislav Namestnikov?

TARRYTOWN - Those who took in the Rangers' pregame skate on Saturday morning did a double take as they noticed an unfamiliar sight.

"It was beautiful," chuckled Rangers Head Coach David Quinn. "Beautiful."

Buchnevich, a native of Cherepovets, Russia, was forced to don red, white and blue for the morning workout because of a lost bet with assistant coach Greg Brown, who hails from Hartford, Conn.

Back in January, with both Russia and USA contending for a spot in the gold medal game at the World Junior Championship, the two made a friendly wager, and because USA prevailed 2-1 over the previously unbeaten Russia, Buchnevich made good on his promise to sport an American jersey during skate, for all the world to see.

"He was not happy," Quinn quipped of his 23-year-old winger, who is coming off a two-goal game vs. the Red Wings and, on Thursday, set a new career high with 15 goals this season. "Brownie had to dig deep for that one."

Though the bet was made nearly two months ago, it took Brown a little bit of time to acquire the jersey, emblazoned with his nameplate.

Was Buchnevich hoping Brown would forget? Definitely. But no such luck for him. Tweet from @NYRangers: 🤔 pic.twitter.com/t5BW75Gje4

"I actually loved it," said defenseman Brendan Smith. "I think him with the American symbol on there was hilarious. He was a little bitter wearing it, but he embraced it."

As did his teammates, who could certainly appreciate a well-executed wager.

"I thought it was good to keep the emotions high and kind of that jive and stuff," Smith said. "It's good to have a lively room. So to have those kinds of situations are fun, and I'm sure everybody enjoyed it more than he did."