The New York Rangers are looking to end a three-game losing streak as they battle the Florida Panthers in the NHL Winter Classic on Friday night at 8 p.m. EST.

The Rangers are 19-18-5 and seventh in the Metropolitan Division. They just lost to the Washington Capitals on the road 6-3. Both teams scored in every period, but New York never led in this game. It was tied after one period of play and the Caps would score two goals before the Rangers got one back. New York was outshot 27-25, faceoffs were even at 30, and hits were even at 21. The power play was 1-for-1 and the penalty kill was 2-for-3 on stops. Both teams did well with blocked shots and Adam Fox was the third star of the game with one goal and one assist.

The Panthers are 21-15-3 and fifth in the Atlantic Division. They just lost to the Montreal Canadiens at home 3-2 in overtime. All the goals happened in the third period and Florida blew a two-goal lead. The Panthers outshot the Canadiens 30-29 and won in hits 30-16. They lost in faceoffs 34-27. The power play was 1-for-4 and the penalty kill was 3-for-4 on stops. Some of the Panthers' good chances were blocked, and they could have tried to get more takeaways. Brad Marchand was the second star with one goal.

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Note: The above data was collected on Jan. 2, 2026, and may have changed since writing.

New York Rangers

Florida Panthers

New York is 31st in scoring, eighth in goals against, 14th on the power play, and 17th on the penalty kill. Artemi Panarin leads the team in goals, assists, and points. The Rangers are 14-8-2 on the road and 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. New York is 5-0 in outdoor games and defenseman Adam Fox just came back from injury. During their losing streak, the offense is slowly trending up, and the defense is trending down. The team is also still dealing with injuries to key players and will be trying to find the right line combinations.

Florida is 12th in scoring, 20th in goals against, 20th on the power play, and seventh on the penalty kill. Brad Marchand leads the team in goals, assists, and points. The Panthers are 13-8-3 at home and 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. For the last two weeks, Florida has been playing .500 hockey and the defense has been inconsistent. This will be the franchise's first outdoor game and even though some of their best players are hurt, they remain a top offensive threat, ranking ninth in the league in goals scored.

Best Bet: Over

The Rangers put up better offensive numbers on the road and the defense has been trending down lately. The Panthers have good offensive depth and will have an extra push in their style of play with this being their first outdoor game.