Rangers Hope Strong Performance At Winter Classic Marks A ‘Fresh Start’

Through all of the hoopla and attention that came with the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic, once the New York Rangers hit the ice on Friday night at LoanDepot Park, it was all business, as they came away with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers. 

From all of the media attention, to the pregame theatrics, to playing outdoors, the Winter Classic is no ordinary game. 

“I think it's hard not to get excited about it,” Mike Sullivan said about playing in the Winter Classic. “Just the venue was terrific. The presentation was great, and the enthusiasm is infectious.”

The Rangers enjoyed the unique experience and soaked it all in, but with the team dropping three straight games leading up to Friday night's matchup on top of the fact that they are currently on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, Sullivan made sure the team was focused on the task at hand once the puck dropped. 

“The energy around the event and event like this, and a lot of the activity around an event like this, sometimes, if you're not careful, the unintended consequences is you'll lose sight of the fact that these are two real important points in the standings, and that was something that we tried to have a discussion with our players about, and just making sure that when the puck dropped, that everybody understands what's on the line here and the impact that it could potentially have, and how important it was for us to stop the bleeding, so to speak,” Sullivan said.

Given the ice conditions, the game was a bit sluggish and was played at a slower pace. The Rangers found a way to adapt by doing exactly what Sullivan has been preaching continuously, providing a strong net-front presence while making an effort to crash the net. 

The Rangers played with the right intentions both offensively and defensively, which allowed them to jump to a 3-0 by the beginning of the second period. 

It was also a big night for the Rangers’ top players, who all came to play. 

Mika Zibanejad’s performance stood out amongst the rest of the pack, recording the first-ever hat trick and five-point game in a Winter Classic.

On the very same night Zibanejad was named to the Swedish men’s hockey Olympic team, he also made history on an outdoor stage. 

“We rely on him in so many circumstances out there, on both sides of the puck, both offensively and defensively,” Sullivan said. “He's, I think, just a real good player that can play on both sides of the puck. I think he's one of the more cerebral players with how he processes the game, how he thinks the game. 

“It's hard to express in words what he means to this group and the contribution that he has to helping us have success with a game like he has tonight. I think he's the type of player that can will our group to win.”

On top of Zibanejad’s performance, Panarin scored two goals on the night, and Shesterkin contributed with 36 saves. 

Rangers Hoping To Use Winter Classic As A Way To Turn Around Their Season The 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic comes at a critical point in the New York Rangers’ season. 

Meanwhile, in the two games since Adam Fox has returned to the lineup, the Rangers have scored three power-play goals, two of which came on Friday night, showing the difference his presence makes to the team’s man advantage. 

This victory is proof in the pudding that when New York’s star players elevate their game to this level and find a way to land on the score sheet, they are capable of much bigger things than we’ve seen from this group all season long.

“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,” Sullivan emphasized. “ I thought our best players were our very best players tonight. I thought they contributed on both sides of the puck. They play in all the key situations.”

Before this game, the team had hoped to use the entire Winter Classic event as a turning point in a season marked by inconsistent play and frustration.

The Blueshirts appeared to play with a level of looseness and cohesiveness that one could say the stage of the Winter Classic brought out of them. 

“We talked about it, about a fresh start here,” Zibanejad said. “Got a couple days as a team, with families and friends and just enjoy this moment. I thought we did a good job with that and really focused when it came to gametime. We’re hoping this can be a start to something good for us.”