Rangers hope Winter Classic win against Panthers sparks turnaround

MIAMI -- The New York Rangers need more nights like this no matter where they play.

"I'm hoping this could be the start of something good for us," center Mika Zibanejad said after a 5-1 win against the Florida Panthers in the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic on Friday.

Zibanejad set an NHL outdoor-game record with five points, including the first hat trick in Winter Classic history. Artemi Panarin scored twice and had an assist, a three-point night that gives him seven in NHL outdoor games, tied for the most all time.

Alexis Lafreniere had three assists, tied for the most in an outdoor game. Vincent Trocheck had two assists. Adam Fox ran a power play that went 2-for-3.

Vladislav Gavrikov, Will Borgen, Trocheck, Zibanejad and Will Cuylle anchored a penalty kill that went 5-for-6, killing two penalties early before the Rangers scored and another in the third period that allowed them to keep a two-goal lead and eventually build on it.

Not to be outdone, Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves.

In other words, the players the Rangers need to deliver consistently if they want to do some damage in the second half of the season stepped up in a big way to help them take out the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in front of a sellout crowd of 36,153 at loanDepot park.

"Obviously, when our top players end up on the score sheet the way they did I think it puts our team in a much better position to win," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. "But I thought it was more than just that. I thought our best players were our very best players tonight. They contributed on both sides of the puck. They play in all situations."

The Rangers (20-18-5) desperately needed a night like this.

They arrived in Miami fresh off a 6-3 loss at the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, their third loss in a row, when they also lost two more forwards to injury with Conor Sheary (lower body) and Noah Laba (upper body) going down.

Sheary is on long-term injured reserve. Laba is out week to week.

They joined a walking wounded group that also features captain J.T. Miller (upper body), who missed his sixth straight game but is again skating with the team and nearing a return, and forward Adam Edstrom, who remains on crutches with a lower-body injury.

But instead of starting 2026 off with a dud, continuing a slump that if it went on any longer could ruin their season entirely, the Rangers kicked off the new year with arguably their most complete performance of the season.

"We talked about it, about a fresh start here," Zibanejad said. "We got a couple days as a team with families and friends just to enjoy this moment. I thought we did a good job with that and we were focused when it came to game time."

He was asked how they can turn a fresh start into something sustainable.

"I'm hoping we can keep feeding off not just the energy, but I think the game that we played today," Zibanejad said. "Obviously, they had their pushback in the third, but I think the blocked shots, the sacrifice defensively, there was a lot of good stuff from our guys there. And obviously 'Shesty' coming up big when we needed him. It didn't look as pretty at times, but we dug in and we stuck with it, and got timely saves and timely goals. That was big for us. That's something we have to keep building on."

They'll quickly find out if they can. Their next game is Monday against the Utah Mammoth at Madison Square Garden, their house of horror this season.

The Rangers are 5-10-3 at home. They've been shut out six times. They've been outscored 57-34.

But when they play a game like they played Friday against the two-time defending champs, it makes you both realize what they can do as a team and wonder why it hasn't happened more.

Zibanejad was around the puck all night long, finishing his chances.

He had three assists and one shot on goal in the previous five games.

"I think he's the type of player that can will our group to win," Sullivan said. "I thought there were some others tonight that played extremely well also, but I think Mika, obviously the impact that he had on the game was significant on both sides."

Lafreniere was making plays like the super-skilled forward the Rangers know he can be.

But his three points matched his production in his previous 11 games.

"He has the ability to do whatever he wants with the puck out there," Trocheck said. "Tonight he was very dynamic. He was creating offense. I feel like every time he had the puck something was happening. So, more of that would be nice."

Panarin was decisive with the puck, particularly on the power play, leading zone entries and shooting without hesitation, without first looking for a better play.

He led the rush that led to Zibanejad's power-play goal that made it 1-0 at 15:09 of the first period. He scored the power-play goal that gave New York a 4-1 lead at 12:25 of the third period.

It was his first power-play goal of the season.

"I thought 'Bread' had a real good night as far as with his execution, his decision making," Sullivan said. "Obviously, that's a huge goal for us."

The Rangers had it all going Friday. It was the night they needed. Now they need more of them.

"We played the way we wanted to play," Panarin said. "We played the way we discussed before the game. And hopefully in the future we're going to play the same way."