Rangers remain undefeated outdoors with win at Winter Classic

MIAMI -- The New York Rangers have been road warriors this season. Outdoors, throughout their history, they have been unbeatable.

Those two trends collided at the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park, producing a satisfying 5-1 win before 36,153 fans Friday in the southernmost outdoor game in NHL history.

The victory was fueled by an outdoor-game record five points by forward Mika Zibanejad, who had the first hat trick in Winter Classic history.

The Rangers have played in six outdoor games and have won each, the most such victories by any team.

Zibanejad has played in the past three outdoor wins, and he said there is a pressure that comes with the winning streak.

“These events are a lot more fun and a lot more memorable when you win,” he said. “Undefeated outdoors, and that was a big one for us. We didn’t want to be part of first losing team.”

The Rangers avoid that ignominious result by not being overwhelmed by the stage and getting to the direct game that has been a staple for them away from home this season.

New York has an NHL-best 15 wins away from home (15-8-2), two more than the League-leading Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars. They are 5-10-3 at home.

Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said his team plays more direct when it is on the road and that it can be a more effective game. He also said it helps when the Rangers’ best players play like the best players.

That happened here.

Zibanejad had five points, Artemi Panarin had two goals and an assist. Alexis Lafreniere had three assists. The power play struck on two of its three opportunities. The Rangers killed five of six penalties.

“I think sometimes when you play on the road ... it’s a whole lot easier to sell the message of simplicity and there is value in simplicity in today’s game,” Sullivan said. “You play straight ahead, put pucks behind opponents, establish forechecks, defend hard. When all those elements are in play, you become a hard team to play against.”

The Rangers had to be a hard team to play against on Friday. They had lost three straight games, had been outscored 11-5 in those games and were sinking down the super-tight standings in the Eastern Conference.

“You just make sure that when the puck drops that everyone understands what’s on the line and the impact it could have and how important it was to stop the bleeding,” Sullivan said.

Plus, it was an opportunity to set the tone for 2026.

“It was a fun game for us, but it was a massive game,” Lafreniere said. “It was a big stage, but the two points were massive. Hopefully we can build confidence from this.”

The Rangers weathered a push by the defending Stanley Cup champions to start the third period and didn’t buckle after Sam Reinhart scored 2:20 into the period on the power play to make it 3-1.

Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves in the game, stopping each of the 15 shots he saw in the second period while the game hung in the balance.

“I think we have one of the elite goalies in the game and he makes timely saves for us, and he makes it look easy,” Sullivan said.

Panarin scored a power-play goal at 12:25 to reestablish a three-goal lead. Zibanejad scored a short-handed goal into the empty net at 18:32, and suddenly it looked and sounded like a home game for the Rangers.

There was a sea of blue, and the cheers were deafening.

“We have amazing support wherever we go," Zibanejad said, "but with this type of event and seeing all the blue jerseys in the stands, for them to have the stadium become more empty at the end and for them to be able to stand there and enjoy this, it was awesome. It hasn’t really been pretty and easy for us this year, but this is a nice win to get.”