Christmas in Florida feels a bit different for the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers this year.
With the excitement building around the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park in Miami on Jan. 2, the holiday decorations -- along with the outdoor ice rink -- are coming together.
“Christmas in Florida: palm trees, Christmas trees, Santa Claus and the sun,” said Panthers forward Anton Lundell in Episode 3 of "Road To The Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise."
The third episode of the series airs on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT and simulcast on truTV and HBO Max.
After taking a quick look at the 2018 NHL Winter Classic between the Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres (a 3-2 overtime victory for the Rangers), the episode focuses on J.T. Miller, who scored the game-winning goal in that exciting matchup eight years ago.
“That game was frigid,” Miller said at the start of the episode. “It felt like a true outdoor game. It was electric.”
The Rangers captain -- after reflecting on that moment -- talked about taking the leadership role in his second stint with the team.
“For the organization to show the confidence in me to wear that letter is something I never imagined,” he said. “There’s a lot of emotion that goes into that.”
The Winter Classic will likely see it’s first-ever matchup between two Russian goalies, with the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin and the Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky both in line to start the game in January.
“I know Bob. He’s a Hall of Famer for sure,” Shesterkin said in the episode. “Unbelievable, and he gave us opportunities, I think, for Russian goalies.”
A behind-the-scenes look at Bobrovsky shows a focused athlete who – despite already achieving so much in the sport -- is always looking for more.
“My approach is one shot at a time,” Bobrovsky said. “I love the game. I have a good team around me, good coaches.”
Back at the Panthers facilities, Lundell then gives a tour of the area, Christmas decorations and all -- highlighting the conflicting scene of an outdoor hockey game in sunny Florida.
Finally, the episode takes a look at Rangers forward Sam Carrick’s family life, with his wife and three kids, and highlighting his family business: maple syrup.
“My grandpa had a farm with maybe 200 maple trees, and as kids we’d go every spring and help him collect all the sap in buckets, the old school way,” Carrick said. “Me and my brothers would go, and we’d pull out the maple syrup … and those were some of our favorite memories growing up.”
“Playing in the Winter Classic game is something as a kid, I watched it as a kid and dreamed about doing one day, and now that it’s here, it’s pretty surreal,” he added.
