Mika Zibanejad makes Winter Classic history in Rangers' dominant win over Panthers

The New York Rangers were 5-1 winners over the Florida Panthers in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic on Friday night, and center Mika Zibanejad was the obvious player of the game. He factored into all five Rangers goals with a five-point night and also made some Winter Classic history in the process.

Rangers' Mika Zibanejad records first NHL Winter Classic hat trick 

Zibanejad opened the scoring for the Rangers with a power-play goal in the first period, and then added two more goals in the win to record the first hat trick in Winter Classic history. 

He completed the hat trick with an empty-net, short-handed goal in the final minutes of regulation.

It was a big showing for Zibanejad whose play and production has faced some harsh criticism in New York over the past two years. He is one of the Rangers' most expensive players, but he has seen his offense — especially during five-on-five play — dramatically decline.

But after Friday's five-point effort, he is now up to 15 goals and 35 total points for the season in 42 games. 

Here is a look at the goal that completed the hat trick for him on Friday.