The Florida Panthers (21-15-3) and New York Rangers (19-18-5) will take it outdoors tonight at the 2026 Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
Florida, which will sport uniforms inspired by the Tropical Hockey League’s Miami Clippers, blew a late two-goal lead in Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Leading goal-scorers Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart lit the lamp in the third to give the Cats a seemingly comfortable cushion with just under five minutes to go. Unfortunately, Cole Caufield beat Daniil Tarasov 32 seconds after Reinhart’s goal and then Panther-killer Nick Suzuki notched the game-tying and game-winning goals as Florida dropped its sixth-straight game to the Canadiens.
Like the Panthers, the Rangers dropped their last outing before the big event, getting soundly beaten 6-3 by the Washington Capitals on Wednesday afternoon. The loss extended New York’s current winless streak to three games. Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox and Braden Schneider scored the goals and leading scorer Artemi Panarin (41 points) contributed two assists. The Broadway Blueshirts are currently four points out of a playoff spot.
- WHEN: 8 p.m. ET
- WHERE: LoanDepot Park – Miami, FL
- ON THE TUBE: TNT, TruTv, HBO MAX
- ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 ESPN (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #NYR, #NYRvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Blueshirt Banter
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: NYR 5, @FLA 3 (Recap) – 4/14/2025
- NEXT MEETING: March 29, 2026
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (17-9-1 .888 / 2.80 3SO) New York: Shesterkin (16-12-4 .910 / 2.51 1SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / New York
Friday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
Idle: DET (52P), TBL (51P), MON (50P), BUF (46P), TOR (44P), BOS (44P), OTT (43P)