01/02/26 11:03:00
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01/02 23:01 CST Rangers beat Panthers 5-1 in first outdoor hockey game in
Miami. Mika Zibanejad has hat trick
Rangers beat Panthers 5-1 in first outdoor hockey game in Miami. Mika Zibanejad
has hat trick
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) --- Have a day, Mika Zibanejad.
He made Sweden's Olympic team, had a hat trick and put together the first
five-point NHL outdoor game in history, all in the span of a few hours, to help
the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday night in the
Winter Classic --- the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State.
Artemi Panarin scored twice, Alexis Lafrenire had three assists and Igor
Shesterkin stopped 36 shots for the Rangers, who improved to 6-0-0 when playing
outdoors.
"I think it's hard to grasp the whole day," Zibanejad said. "But yeah, a great
12, 16 hours. It's been a fun day."
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.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the NHL deserved enormous credit for pulling
off an event he called "spectacular."
"A Southern setting (and) the ice was fine," Maurice said. "The spectacle was
incredible. It was just brilliant, the entire kind of weekend. ... I would
imagine the Rangers really loved it. But for the losing coach, it was an
incredible memory."
Florida outshot New York 37-20 and had 38 hits to New York's 20, but watched
the Rangers block of its 27 shot attempts.
The star of the night was Zibanejad, who reached five points in a game for the
fourth time.
"He's one of our core players," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. "We rely on
him in so many circumstances out there on both sides of the puck."
Zibanejad's third goal was an empty-netter with 1:28 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.
"We have amazing support wherever we go," Zibanejad said.
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.
"Awesome experience," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "Really happy I
was able to able to experience something like this. Would have loved to get the
win, but at the end of the day, a true first-class experience."
Did it work? Outdoor ice typically doesn't hold up with temperatures in the
60s, and there were some player complaints that the surface wasn't 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.
"These events are a lot more fun and a lot more memorable when you win,"
Zibanejad said.
The temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Celsius) at game time was the
second-warmest of any of the NHL's 44 outdoor games that have counted in the
standings. It was 2 degrees cooler than on Feb. 27, 2016, when Detroit beat
Colorado at Denver's Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.
The Rangers --- with a snow effect around their walkway --- were called to the
ice at 8:13 p.m. The Panthers --- as fire shot skyward along their path ---
came out about a minute later. And that's 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 will be part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games
next month were introduced. Panthers defenseman Seth Jones made the team
earlier 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," 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."
Up next
Rangers: Host Utah on Monday.
Panthers: Host Colorado on Sunday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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