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Rangers still perfect outdoors, defeat Panthers 5-1 in 2026 Winter Classic
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- Rangers still perfect outdoors, defeat Panthers 5-1 in 2026 Winter Classic
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It's pretty obvious that the New York Rangers have this outdoors thing down pretty good. They skated to a convincing 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers in the 2026 Winter Classic at loanDepot Park in Miami on Friday, making them 6-0-0 all-time in outdoor games.
Their six wins in outdoor games is most in NHL history. They won each of their three appearances in the Winter Classic (also 2012 and 2018), and three more in the Stadium Series.
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But that wasn't the only history made on Friday. Mika Zibanejad scored the first hat trick in Winter Classic history, and his five points were most in any NHL outdoor game. The 32-year-old scored a power-play goal, an even-strength goal, and finished with a short-handed goal into an empty net.
The Rangers (20-18-5) rode the backs of their star players to this impressive victory. Artemi Panarin scored two goals and totaled three points; Alexis Lafreniere had a career-high three assists; Vincent Trocheck had two helpers; goalie Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves; and Zibanejad led the way with his record-setting performance.
The win ended a three-game skid (0-2-1) for the Rangers, who scored twice on the power play Friday and were 5-for-6 on the penalty kill against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
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The Panthers lost for the fourth time in six games (2-3-1) and seemed out of sync all night. Sam Reinhart scored his 23rd goal, but goalie Sergei Bobrovsky finished with just 15 saves.
The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals 1:04 apart late in the first period. After successfully killing off a pair of Panthers power plays earlier in the period, the Rangers scored on their first man advantage at 15:09.
Zibanejad drove down the middle of the ice to deflect a centering pass from Lafreniere past Bobrovsky to make it 1-0 on just New York's fourth shot of the game. The scoring play took shape way back at the other blue line, when Reinhart failed to get the puck in deep as he headed for a line change. Panarin collected the puck and transitioned quickly the other way, and the Rangers ultimately scored a pretty goal off the rush.
They scored on their very next shot 64 seconds later to extend the lead to 2-0. Panarin snuck a long-range shot through a maze of players in front of a screened Bobrovsky, with Lafreniere and Zibanejad picking up the assists.
Two shots later, it was 3-0 Rangers. Zibanejad finished off a 2-on-1 opportunity for his second goal of the night 58 seconds into the second period. Lafreniere collected the puck over the Panthers blue line behind defenseman Gustav Forsling and dished to Zibanejad for his third primary assist.
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Trocheck did an outstanding job controlling the puck despite losing an edge and falling to his knees in the neutral zone, before chipping it ahead, where Lafreniere tapped it past Forsling to create the 2-on-1.
Later in the period, it appeared for a split second that Trocheck upped the Rangers lead to 4-0. However, officials immediately waved off his goal at 10:01 because he batted the puck out of midair with a high stick.
With under two minutes to play in the second, Bobrovsky robbed Trocheck's one-timer from a couple feet out after a sweet set-up by Lafreniere. The Panthers goalie lost sight of the rebound, and Trocheck hopped on it, but his quick dish went untouched through the slot.
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Still, despite being out-shot 25-12 through two periods, the Rangers held a 3-0 lead.
Shesterkin lost his shutout bid when Reinhart scored a power-play goal at 2:20 of the third period. But the Panthers failed to capitalize on another power play six minutes later, and the Rangers put the game away with their second power-play goal of the night shortly thereafter.
Panarin wired a high shot from between the circles past Bobrovsky at 12:25 to put the Rangers back up by three, 4-1.
Reinhart appeared to make it 4-2 with another power-play goal at 17:39. But the officials waved it off and video review confirmed that Reinhart kicked the puck over the goal line during a scramble by Shesterkin's crease.
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Zibanejad finished off the historic hat trick, hitting the empty net from downtown to put an exclamation point on New York's most memorable win of the season.
Now, somehow, the Rangers must carry this momentum back home with them, when they return to action Monday at Madison Square Garden against the Utah Mammoth.
Key takeaways after Rangers defeat Panthers 5-1 in 2026 Winter Classic
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Mika Magic
Zibanejad's record-setting night earned him the Cocoa Cup, which was presented by TNT commentator Darren Pang in a weird on-ice "ceremony" after the game. A bit later on the TNT set ice side, Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist placed some serious Winter Classic-themed bling around Zibanejad's neck.
Seriously, though, Mika deserved all the accolades coming his way after his dominant performance Friday. It's been years since he was this dominant, and this performance could very well open the floodgates offensively for the streaky star — something the Rangers need badly to happen in their second-half playoff push.
Not to be lost in the shuffle here is that Zibanejad scored his 116th power-play goal with the Rangers, tying Chris Kreider and Camille Henry for most in franchise history . Oh, and earlier in the day, he was officially named to Sweden's roster for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
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Yes, this was a day to remember for Zibanejad.
No contestbetween pipes
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Shesterkin and Bobrovsky are two of the best goalies in the NHL. But it was no contest who was better in the 2026 Winter Classic.
The Rangers netminder turned in a brilliant performance, especially considering the significant shot differential that heavily favored the Panthers 37-20. Shesterkin set the tone in this one during Florida's first power play in the opening minutes of the game. He stoned Reinhart and Sam Bennett on separate Grade A chances, and never looked back.
The 30-year-old made 15 saves in the second period, and his best stop late in the third period — doing the splits on a scintillating glove save against AJ Greer — when the result of the game was pretty much decided.
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Shesterkin was locked in , and appeared as such at practice Thursday, when he emphasized that this game wouldn't be fun and that the Rangers absolutely needed to get the two points. He was all business.
On the flip side, Bobrovsky struggled all night, even on the simplest of shots. It appeared the 37-year-old, who's a two-time Stanley Cup champion and twice won the Vezina Trophy, had trouble picking up the puck. He seemed slow to react time and again, and simply didn't look like himself — though the Rangers had something to do with that, too.
Did a door open for Adam Fox?
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Panthers defenseman Seth Jones sustained an upper-body injury blocking a shot by Lafreniere at 7:54 of the first period and didn't return to the game. The injury occurred in his 900th NHL game, and on the same day he was officially named to the United States roster for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
There's no word how severe the injury is, but should it be bad enough to keep him out of the Olympics, there's a chance that Adam Fox could get the call to replace him. That's a pretty ironic twist, considering much was made of Fox not making Team USA's roster , and there he was on the opposing bench when Jones — one of the eight defensemen selected instead of the former Norris Trophy winner — got hurt.
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Time will tell if a door opened for Fox shortly after it appeared to shut closed.
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