NHL pulls off warm-weather Winter Classic in Miami as New York Rangers trounce Florida Panthers

MIAMI — A sellout crowd of 36,153 packed loanDepot Park on Friday night as the Rangers beat the Panthers 5–1 in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic. The league’s first outdoor game in Florida — and one of two scheduled this season — lacked the natural splendor of snow-covered epics staged in places like Buffalo and Michigan but delivered the pageantry fans have come to expect from the NHL’s signature event.

After several days of uncharacteristically cool weather in Miami, game day felt closer to a typical South Florida January, with temperatures reaching 71° F during the pregame fan fest. At puck drop, it was 63° F, two degrees below the record for an NHL outdoor game. The ice held up well despite moderately high humidity of 65%, with Panthers coach Paul Maurice calling the surface “fine” in his postgame remarks.

The league waited until moments before puck drop to open the ballpark’s retractable roof, incorporating the reveal of the night sky into team introductions. As the sky came into view, Latin singer Luis Fonsi performed his hit song “Despacito” while the teams emerged from their respective dugouts.

As NHL President of Content & Events Steve Mayer promised in the days leading up to the event, artificial snow fell over the crowd during the introductory festivities. The snow returned after the final horn as Dean Martin’s “Let It Snow” played over the stadium speakers.

Both the Rangers and Panthers made their ceremonial arrivals hours earlier clad in white linen attire straight out of “Miami Vice,” with the two-time defending champions pulling up in a fleet of rented Ferraris. Captain Aleksander Barkov and assistant captain Matthew Tkachuk, both of whom were out of the lineup due to injury, were the first of the Panthers to arrive, with Tkachuk committing to the bit by smoking a cigar. The duo later joined singer-songwriter Role Model on stage with the Stanley Cup during his first intermission performance.

The crowd consisted of a roughly 60-40 breakdown of Panthers fans to Rangers fans, thousands of whom were sporting newly purchased Winter Classic jerseys.

NHL sponsors were well-represented on site at loanDepot Park, including nine on the ice surface. In addition to title sponsor Discover being incorporated into the center-ice logo, Fastenal, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s and Ticketmaster had their brand logos featured in the four corners in-ice positions. Caterpillar, Expedia, Honda and Verizon had their logos in the neutral zone.

Other notable sponsor integrations included a Norwegian Cruise Line mixed-reality display, in which the playing surface was virtually transformed into an ocean with a cruise ship on top. The brand’s permanent Home Run Harbor display in centerfield at the Marlins’ ballpark was also temporarily renamed “Home Goal Harbor” in a nod to the hockey game taking place.

Rangers C Mika Zibanejad scored the first hat trick in Winter Classic history and third in an NHL outdoor game. The NHL on TNT panel, which broadcast the game in the U.S., awarded him its novelty Winter Classic MVP trophy, the Cocoa Cup, which features a large hot chocolate mug atop a wooden base.