It was a fun and festive atmosphere at loanDepot park in Miami for the 2026 Winter Classic between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.
The vibes were immaculate, and the players and fans all seemed to be enjoying themselves leading up to the big game.
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Unfortunately for the home fans, the game didn’t go very well for the Panthers as they were taken down by the Rangers 5-1.
While much of the attention and conversation afterwards was about the event itself, there were some elements of the game that needed to be addressed.
Let’s get to our Winter Classic takeaways:
UNDERLYING STATS LEANED PANTHERS
From shots to shot attempts to puck possession to opportunities from the slot, Florida did more than enough correctly on Friday to come away with two points.
But the amount of times they either missed the net, turned the puck over or failed to convert a rebound or rush into a high danger chance cost them dearly.
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Even though Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin finished the game with 36 saves, only seven of those shots were considered high danger.
Florida’s expected goals for the game was 3.86, so it’s not like they weren’t generating scoring chances, but the quality has got to be better.
“We had 50 pucks that never got to the net,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “We got 30 blocked and we missed the net 20 times. I think we were just squeezing and pushing to come from behind, a little late getting the puck off our stick.”
FINDING POSITIVES
Between the unorthodox conditions, the Winter Classic ice, the distance they had to travel to get from place to place in their gear, the longer pregame and intermissions…there were several elements of Friday night that made things a bit more challenging for both teams.
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The task now for Maurice and his staff will be dissecting the positive things Florida did against the Rangers and highlighting the areas they need to be better.
There isn’t much time to dwell though, as the Cats are right back at it on Sunday afternoon when they face the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche.
“There’s a couple things I’ll take out of this game that I like to show, and I won’t share that with you…It’s kind of part of our technical package,” said Maurice. “There were a couple things I thought we were a little late on, and then some good things we just didn’t connect on. I don’t want us to lose our focus with that. We had 21 shot attempts from the slot, that would be our biggest number this year. So there’s some things I didn’t like, and then the rest of it will be Colorado, because they handled us was pretty well the last time they played us.”
AN AMAZING EVENT
At the end of the day, despite the final score, the Winter Classic in Miami was a resounding success.
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The week of festivities and events at the ballpark for the players, coaches and staff members created memories that will last a lifetime for many of those who were fortunate enough to participate.
Even though many of the players and coaches had previously participated an NHL outdoor game, the sights, sounds and overall experience of hosting something like this in South Florida is something incredibly unique that will not soon be forgotten.
“I feel a real sense of gratitude to the National Hockey League,” said Maurice. “This was an incredible event. I can’t believe how many people worked on this thing, and then they got it all right, for me anyway. This is the losing coach, right? So, incredible memories. I’ve been to Europe three times with the Global Series and this is my third outdoor game. We had a pretty good run here over the last three years in the playoffs, so I’ve got to see some pretty exciting nights in the National Hockey League, and I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”
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Photo caption: Jan 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; The Florida Panthers play against the New York Rangers during the first period in the 2026 Winter Classic ice hockey game at loanDepot Park. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
