MIAMI — Even with a beach 3 ¹/₂ miles away, the Rangers remained undefeated outdoors.
An unexpectedly dominant 5-1 win over the Panthers in the 2026 Winter Classic on Friday night at loanDepot park improved the Blueshirts to 6-0-0 in outdoor games since they first competed in one 14 years ago.
Successfully defending the franchise record the way they did was one thing.
Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the third period of the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic game between the New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers at loanDepot park on January 2, 2026 in Miami, Florida. NHLI via Getty Images
The Rangers’ unrelenting effort against the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, however, was the real stepping stone in a season that hasn’t had many.
With a victory in the third-warmest outdoor contest in NHL history at 61 degrees, the Rangers snapped a three-game losing skid.
The Rangers showed the beachgoers how it’s done up north in the first outdoor game in Florida.
Fending off five of the Panthers’ six power plays, the Rangers also blocked 27 shots through 60 minutes. They may have been limited to six shots on goal in each of the first two periods, but the Rangers consistently generated high-quality opportunities that they were able to capitalize on.
The power play also scored two goals for just the fifth time this season.
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They got to stick it to the Panthers on national television. They got to do it in front of a sold out and split crowd of 36,153.
Feel-good games aren’t always enough in a season like the one the Rangers are having. This was one the team should hang its hat on. One that should fuel confidence and serve as a building block.
Mika Zibanejad spearheaded the victory with three goals — for the first-ever Winter Classic hat trick — and two assists, while Artemi Panarin chipped in three points (two goals, one assist). Alexis Lafrenière also pieced together one of his better efforts of the season in the form of a three-assist performance.
After withstanding the Panthers early push in the first period, the Rangers scored twice in the span of 64 seconds.
Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal with teammates during the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic against the Florida Panthers at LoanDepot Park on January 2, 2026 in Miami, Florida. NHLI via Getty Images
Florida whiffed on their first two power-play opportunities. Once the visitors earned their first, however, they converted just 40 seconds into the man advantage. Lafrenière hit Zibanejad crashing the net, which tied the Swedish center for the most power-play goals in Rangers history with 116.
The goal put some serious jump in the Rangers, who struck again to double their score shortly after.
Panarin flung the puck from the top of the zone and through traffic for his 15th goal of the season.
Just 58 seconds into the second period, the Rangers made it a 3-0 game. Vincent Trocheck slipped through the neutral zone, but still managed to dish to Lafrenière in transition. The 2020 first-overall pick then found Zibanejad once again for his second goal of the evening.
The Rangers nearly made it a four-goal game later in the period when Trocheck batted the puck past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. It was immediately waved off due to a high stick on the play.
Florida didn’t get on the scoreboard until 2:20 into the final frame. With Jonny Brodzinski in the box for tripping, Sam Reinhart scored on the power play to cut the Rangers’ lead to two.
Panarin later sniped his 16th goal of the season on the power play before Zibanejad completed his hat trick with an empty-net score.