Mika Zibanejad's hat trick, five-point night helps Rangers beat Panthers in NHL Winter Classic

6 days ago 2

The Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers 5-1 in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic on Friday night at loanDepot Park in Miami.

Here are some takeaways…

- The temperature in Miami at puck drop was 63.1°F, making it the second warmest outdoor game in NHL history.

- Special teams was the story of the opening period. The Rangers killed off a pair of penalties over the first 10 minutes, then took advantage of a Florida delay of game, as Mika Zibanejad beat Sergei Bobrovsky off a net-front pass for the opening goal. Artemi Panarin would double the lead just 1:04 later off a shot through traffic from the point.

Zibanejad's tally put him in a tie with Chris Kreider and Camille Henry for the most PPG's in franchise history (118).

- Zibanejad just missed breaking that record in the opening minute of the second period. Shortly after New York's second man advantage had expired, the winger found the back of the net off nifty passing from Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere to make it a 3-0 game.

Lafreniere assisted on all three of those goals, giving him and Zibanejad three points over the first 20+ minutes.

- Trocheck appeared to have added a goal of his own when he batted a rebound off Bobrovsky's blocker out of mid-air, but the refs immediately waved it off due to a high stick. The center had two more high quality chances later in the period, the first off a pass from Lafreniere that Bobrovsky stopped, then the rebound trickled through an open crease.

- Igor Shesterkin kept Florida from regaining any momentum, stopping all 25 shots he faced through 40 minutes. The Panthers were finally able to sneak one by him early in the third, though, as Sam Reinhart found the back of the net on the power play to cut it down to a two-goal game.

- New York was able to kill off a Matthew Robertson delay of game penalty, then a few minutes later Panarin put this one away for good, as he buried his second of the night with a wicked wrister from the high slot on the power play -- Zibanejad and Trocheck picked up the assists on the goal.

- Zibanejad completed the first-ever Winter Classic hat trick and five-point game with a shorthanded empty netter. He (5), Panarin (3), Lafreniere (3), and Trocheck (2) combined for all 15 of NY's points on the night.

- Shesterkin was once again terrific between the pipes for the Blueshirts, stopping 36 of the 37 shots he faced, as New York picked up their league-best 15th road win and improved to a perfect 6-0-0 in franchise history outdoor games.