Send the New York Rangers outdoors, and they become unbeatable.
Mika Zibanejad had a hat trick, Artemi Panarin scored twice and the Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday night in the Winter Classic — the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State.
Alexis Lafreniere had three assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 shots for the Rangers, who improved to 6-0-0 in outdoor games.
Photo: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, which was playing outdoors for the first time and lost for the fourth time in its last six contests overall. The Panthers gave up goals to Zibanejad and Panarin 64 seconds apart late in the first period, giving New York a 2-0 lead, and the Rangers kept control the rest of the way.
Zibanejad’s third goal was an empty-netter with 1 minute, 28 seconds left. Rangers fans tried throwing hats to no avail; the seats were too far from the ice for any of them to get even close to the playing surface.
The roof was open, as were the huge window panels behind what typically is left field at loanDepot Park — home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins. There was some snow falling from the edges of the stadium, there were blasts of fire and after years of planning, there was hockey on a baseball field.
Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Did it work? Outdoor ice typically does not hold up with temperatures above 15°C, and there were some player complaints that the surface was not conducive to speedy play, but it worked well enough for the Rangers, who were 4-6-3 in their last 13 games coming into Friday.
The 17°C at game time was the second-warmest of any of the NHL’s 44 outdoor games that have counted in the standings.
The Rangers — with a snow effect around their walkway — were called to the ice at 8:13pm. The Panthers — as fire shot skyward along their path — came out about a minute later. That is about when snowflakes began falling from the top of the stadium, as the roof continued opening.
There was another celebration before faceoff, when Rangers and Panthers players who would be part of the US Olympic hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games next month were introduced. Panthers defenseman Seth Jones made the team earlier on Friday, as did injured Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.
Tkachuk placed an American flag over Jones’ shoulders and the crowd roared.
It was a spectacle, as expected. The Rangers showed up in all-white outfits, as if it was a beach day. The Panthers came with a “Miami Vice” theme, wearing white suits, pastel shirts and even showing up in Ferraris instead of a bus.
“If you would have asked me 25 years ago ... this might be the last place that I thought it would take place,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “So, I just think it speaks volumes for technology and its advancements and the ability to put a sheet of ice down in this type of environment.”
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