Rangers aim to show 'hockey world' how good they can be at Winter Classic

MIAMI -- The New York Rangers view the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic as an opportunity to put a tough 2025 behind them, to start the new year fresh in South Florida with their families, and to maybe send a message to the rest of the NHL about what they can do.

"We talked in the locker room between the guys yesterday saying we'll try tomorrow to show the hockey world how we have to play all year," Rangers forward Artemi Panarin said after practice on Thursday. "It's not like we wait for a big event and then start playing well, but tomorrow we have a big game. The Winter Classic is a special day in the hockey world, why not use it."

Their opportunity comes against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at loanDepot park on Friday in front of what is expected to be a sold-out crowd of more than 35,000 at the home of the Miami Marlins (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS).

It also comes with the Rangers fresh off a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, their third straight defeat and ninth in their past 13 games (4-6-3).

"It changes the scenery a little bit, changes your perception even of a skid," Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy said. "It changes the energy being able to play in front of your family, for me my kids. It gives you a little more energy. It gives you a little more appreciation of we get to play a fun game. When you're losing it doesn't seem fun all the time, but when you can do stuff like this it reminds you of when you were watching these games as a kid."

The past year did not bring a lot of good tidings to the Rangers.

They ended 2025 with a .540 points percentage (42-35-11), which was 21st in the NHL. This season in particular they have a .512 points percentage (19-18-5), which is last in the Eastern Conference.

New York was arguably the most disappointing team in the League last season, failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after being a Stanley Cup favorite at the start following a run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2024.

As a result, the Rangers went through a coaching change, hiring Mike Sullivan to replace Peter Laviolette on May 2, and traded one of the best players in franchise history, Chris Kreider, to the Anaheim Ducks on June 12.

This season has still been up and down, though, with five losing streaks of at least three games and three winning streaks of at least three games. They've been shutout eight times, including six times at home, where they are 5-10-3.

But coming down to Miami with their families and getting an opportunity to experience an event unlike any the NHL has ever put on -- easily the League's most ambitious outdoor game, considering the South Florida climate -- comes at the right time for the team, center Mika Zibanejad said.

"Looking back at how it's been, how we ended last season and how it's been this season so far, I think definitely," Zibanejad said. "Obviously, you don't want to be in that position to have that as a moment, but we're in it now, and obviously having this opportunity to play an outdoor game with all the families here, a special game like this, the two points mean a lot, but the two points add a lot more to the experience, too. You're going to remember this way more and in a completely different way and with a different feeling when you win. That's the plan."

Zibanejad is himself 3-0 in outdoor games, having won with the Rangers against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field in New York, and the 2024 Stadium Series against the New York Islanders at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He also won with the Ottawa Senators in the 2014 Heritage Classic against the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver.

The Rangers have an outdoor game winning streak to keep intact, too. They're 5-0-0 in such games.

Zibanejad's eyes lit up when that statistic was mentioned. He said now it's something they'll talk about in the locker room before the game.

"We want to keep that going," he said.

"You have to remind yourself that it's two points that are important, too, the same two points that you play for in any other game, but it becomes a special game. So, yeah, when you win a game like this there's a different type of emotion to it."

Emotion that can carry with a team.

The Rangers won the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and a few months later they were playing in the Eastern Conference Final. They won both games they played at Yankee Stadium in New York in the 2014 Stadium Series, and that season culminated with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The 2017-18 season ended in disappointment, but six years later, after the Rangers defeated the Islanders at MetLife Stadium, they would go on once again to play in the Eastern Conference Final.

So, there's precedent for what their goal is Friday.

Win. Start the new year right. Send a message. Turn their season around.

"I think honestly a win right now against anyone in any building would jolt us," Soucy said. "But on a big stage, playing in front of your family, playing in front of your kids, there's a little extra to it."