Miami Mika’s Memorable Masterpiece Helps Beachfront Blueshirts Stay Perfect Outdoors
Mika Zibanejad ensured the Rangers maintained their perfect outdoor record as he scored a hat trick as part of a five-point effort at LoanDepot Park on Friday night. It was a Winter Classic for the ages, and the Rangers toppled the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, 5-1. Zibanejad’s hat trick and five-point game were each all-time firsts in a Winter Classic, an event that’s been going on almost annually since 2008.
The Rangers maintained a high level of play across all 60 minutes of regulation. They treated the Winter Classic as fuel to the rest of their season, and they embraced the opportunity to begin 2026 with a clean slate.
New year, new Rangers.
The Blueshirts walked into LoanDepot Park in all-white outfits, pairing hints of Miami Vice with their goals for the new year. “We talked about it, a fresh start here,” Zibanejad said. “Got a couple of days as a team, with families and friends, and just enjoy this moment. I thought we did a good job with that and really focused when it came to game time. We’re hoping this can be a start to something good for us.”
Despite missing their captain, JT Miller, Noah Laba, and Conor Sheary, the Rangers were victorious. Notably, they scored twice on the power play while killing five of six penalties. Also, Igor Shesterkin stood tall in net, making 36 saves. The only time the Panthers got the puck past him was through Sam Reinhart on the power play, two minutes into the third period. Florida also had a third-period goal revoked after replay review revealed it had been kicked past the goal line.
Shesterkin struggled in the 2024 Stadium Series, his previous start outside, when the Rangers had to escape a late multi-goal deficit to win in overtime. That day, it was Zibanejad who scored the game-tying goal. After Friday’s hat-trick heroics, on the same day he was named to Sweden’s Olympic team, Zibanejad improved to a 4-0-0 individual outdoors record, and the New York Rangers are 6-0-0 in the open air, with the most wins and goals scored (25) outdoors by any NHL franchise.
“These events are a lot more fun and a lot more memorable when you win,” Zibanejad said. “Undefeated outdoors, and that was a big one for us. We didn’t want to be part of the first losing team.”
The game began with Al Murdoch announcing the Rangers’ roster alongside a live performance of “Despacito.” There was a light show, which featured fake snow falling from the rafters as the roof began to open. And then, an incredible national anthem was performed with a flag waving on the ice, and the puck was dropped before 36,153 fans.
“The energy around an event like this, and a lot of the activity around an event like this, sometimes, if you’re not careful, the unintended consequence is you lose sight of the fact that these are two really important points in the standings,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “And that was something that we tried to have a discussion with our players about, and just make sure that when the puck dropped, everybody understands what’s on the line here and the impact that it could potentially have. And how important it was for us to stop the bleeding, so to speak.”
Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers didn’t share the Rangers’ committed mindset. They arrived in fancy sports cars, which, funny enough, got stuck in traffic on their way to LoanDepot Park. The players emerged from the sports cars in fancy suits and glasses, posing with fans as if they had just won the Stanley Cup. Granted, they did just win the Cup for the second straight season, but this year, they have struggled. Florida’s entrance did not send an attractive message, nor did the dance Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk did with the Cup and Role Model during the first intermission.
The Rangers took advantage of Florida’s laid-back attitude, and Zibanejad wasn’t the only Blueshirt to make history. Artemi Panarin became the second NHL player ever to record multiple three-point games outdoors, and his seven career outdoor points are tied for the most in league history. He also became the second player ever to score multiple game-winning goals outdoors.
“I thought our best players were our very best players tonight,” Sullivan said. “I thought Bread had a real good game as far as his execution, his decision-making. Not just on the power play, but just overall, but in particular on the power play. Obviously, that’s a huge goal for us.”
Sullivan was referring to Panarin’s second goal of the game, which came on the power play eight minutes into the third period. It was assisted by Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck, and it marked Panarin’s first power play goal of the season. It also helped the Rangers respond to Florida’s early third-period tally, preventing a rally and regaining a three-goal lead.
“There’s a lot of three-goal leads that disappear in today’s game,” Sullivan pointed out. “Because, to a certain extent, you’re battling human nature. Because human nature wants to exhale when you get a little bit of a lead like that with a lot of hockey to play. It’s a constant battle against human nature to continue to try to play with the intensity, the level of purpose that you need.”
Also, Alexis Lafrenière registered his first career game with three assists, the most ever in an outdoor contest. It was an encouraging performance from the Rangers’ former first-overall pick, who has been inconsistent since his debut in 2021.
In the opening period, following a quiet first 15 minutes, the Rangers got on the board in the final five. Panarin stopped a clearing attempt in the neutral zone and delivered it to Lafrenière, who drove through the left hashmarks and aced a centering pass to a speedy Zibanejad near the crease. Zibanejad slapped the perfect pass past Sergei Bobrovsky.
“Out there, [Lafrenière] has unbelievable skill,” Zibanejad said. “The first one, great play by [Panarin]. It’s a good breakout and obviously a great pass by Laf.”
The Rangers finished the opening frame leading 2-0. They scored their second goal 64 seconds after the first as Panarin aced an elevated shot from the right point through traffic. Zibanejad and Lafrenière set a screen in front of Bobrovsky to help the puck cross the goal line.
“We played the way we wanted to play,” Panarin said. “We played the way we discussed before the game. Hopefully, in the future, we’re going to play the same way.”
In the second period, it took just 58 seconds for Zibanejad to score his second goal. After the Rangers finished killing a penalty, Vincent Trocheck tripped in the neutral zone, but he still snuck a pass to Lafrenière. Poor blue line defense by Florida allowed the Rangers to gain a three-on-one odd-man rush. As Trocheck slid into the attacking zone, Lafrenière passed to Zibanejad on his right, who shoveled the puck into the net for a 3-0 lead.
The rest of the second period was scoreless, and two minutes into the third period, Florida got on the board. But the Rangers didn’t back down.
“I thought the part of the game that I was really happy about was after they scored the power play goal to make it 3-1,” Sullivan remarked. “That next four-to-five minutes leading up to the power play goal that we get, I thought that was a really important time in the game, because that could have gone one of two ways. […] I thought the guys did a really good job of just trying to hike their intensity level and try to establish the gays we wanted to play.”
After 10 tight minutes of scoreless hockey, Panarin extended the Rangers’ lead with a power play goal. Then, as the Rangers were killing a penalty at 1:28, Zibanejad stole Brad Marchand’s pass from the slot and fired the puck down the ice into Florida’s empty net, completing his hat trick.
Zibanejad became Miami Mika.
Tonight, the Rangers hope to bring their Winter Classic momentum back to New York City as they host the Utah Mammoth at the Garden (7:00 PM – MSG, Gotham Sports). The Rangers only have five home wins, the second-fewest in the NHL, and four of their next five games will be played at Madison Square Garden.
Winning mattered to the Rangers on Friday. So did defending their outdoor record. Now, it’s time for them to turn the Winter Classic into momentum, because the Blueshirts continue to hunt for a playoff spot.
Schedule
7:00 PM: NYR vs. UTA; MSG, Gotham Sports
7:00 PM: NYK at DET; Peacock
7:00 PM: Yankees Hot Stove; YES, Gotham Sports
