Rangers beat Panthers 5-1 in first outdoor hockey game in Miami,

MIAMI (AP) – Have a nice day, Mika Zibanejad.

He made the Swedish Olympic team, scored a hat trick and engineered the first five-point outdoor game in NHL history, all in the span of a few hours, to help the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 Friday night in the Winter Classic – the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State.

Artemi Panarin scored twice, Alexis Lafreniere had three assists and Igor Shesterkin stopped 36 shots for the Rangers, who improved to 6-0-0 when playing away.

“I think it’s hard to understand all day,” Zibanejad said. “But yeah, 12, 16 great hours. It’s been a fun day.”

Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, which was playing away for the first time and lost for the fourth time in its last six games 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 remained in control the rest of the way.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the NHL deserves enormous credit for putting on an event he called “spectacular.”

“A southern setting (and) the ice cream was good,” Maurice said. “The show was incredible. It was just awesome, that whole weekend. … I guess 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 saw the Rangers block all 27 of its shot attempts.

The star of the evening was Zibanejad, who scored five points in a game for the fourth time.

“He’s one of our core players,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “We count on him in a lot of circumstances, on both sides of the puck.”

Zibanejad’s third goal was into an empty net with 1:28 left. Rangers fans tried to throw hats to no avail; the seats were too far from the ice for any of them to even approach the playing surface.

“We have incredible support everywhere we go,” Zibanejad said.

The roof was open, as were the huge window panels behind what is usually left field at LoanDepot Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins. There was snow falling from the edges of the stadium, fire explosions and after years of planning, there was hockey on a baseball field.

“Awesome experience,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “I’m really happy I got to experience something like this. I would have loved to get the win, but ultimately a real first-class experience.”

Did it work? Outdoor ice generally does not withstand temperatures in the 60s, and some players have complained that the surface is not conducive to fast-paced play. But it worked well enough for the Rangers, who were 4-6-3 in their last 13 games 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 the time of the game was the second warmest among the 44 NHL outdoor games counting in the standings. It was 2 degrees cooler than Feb. 27, 2016, when Detroit beat Colorado at Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies.

The Rangers — with a snow effect around their driveway — were called onto the ice at 8:13 p.m. The Panthers — with fire shooting skyward along their path — came out about a minute later. And that’s when snowflakes started falling from the top of the stadium, as the roof continued to open.

There was another celebration before puck drop, when Rangers and Panthers players who will be part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at next month’s Milan Cortina Games were introduced. Panthers defenseman Seth Jones made the team earlier Friday, as did injured Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Tkachuk placed an American flag on Jones’ shoulders and the crowd roared.

It was a spectacle, as expected. The Rangers showed up in all-white outfits, like it was a day at the beach. 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 I thought it would take place,” Sullivan said. “So I think that says a lot about the technology and the advancements in it and the ability to put down a layer of ice in this type of environment.”

FOLLOWING

Rangers: Host Utah on Monday.

Panthers: Host Colorado on Sunday.