Rangers beating Panthers was stellar, but it doesn't mean they are playoff-worthy
The Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, right, is congratulated by Artemi Panarin after scoring a goal against the Panthers during the NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park on Jan. 2, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Credit: Getty Images/Carmen Mandato
After their stunning 5-1 victory over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Friday night in the Winter Classic in Miami, Rangers players talked about keeping the good vibes going and using the victory as a springboard to climbing the standings in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
“I’m hoping this could be the start of something good for us,’’ Mika Zibanejad said. “A fresh start.’’
Sorry, but this reporter will believe that when he sees it.
Ending a three-game losing streak by beating Florida was unexpected, but perhaps it shouldn’t have been, given that the Rangers now are 6-0 in outdoor games. (Though this one, played in a domed baseball stadium with the roof open, didn’t seem to be so much outside.)
But doing the unexpected is what the Rangers (20-18-5) have specialized in this season. They’ve won games they weren’t supposed to; they’ve lost three times to teams that were last overall in the league; they’ve been shut out eight times in 43 games. They have an inexplicably bad record at home (5-10-3) and an inexplicably good record on the road (15-8-2).
So this is where they are: two games over NHL .500 after 43 games and two points out of the last wild-card playoff spot in a scrunched-up Eastern Conference playoff race. It’s where they belong.
They have talent. They won Friday because Zibanejad scored the first hat trick and had the first five-point game in Winter Classic history and because goalie Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves. They just don’t appear to have enough talent to separate themselves from the crowded playoff pack.
Even with a five-goal outburst Friday, they’re still averaging only 2.6 goals per game. Entering Saturday, that was the third-worst in the league.
Yes, they have injuries — J.T. Miller missed his sixth consecutive game Friday with a shoulder injury and Adam Fox returned on New Year’s Eve after missing 14 games with a shoulder injury of his own. Now they have a call-up from Hartford, Justin Dowling, playing third-line center because rookie center Noah Laba is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Fourth-line winger Adam Edstrom and Conor Sheary are on crutches and out indefinitely with leg injuries.
But other teams have injuries, too. Ask Florida about being without its two best players, captain Aleksander Barkov, who is out for at least the regular season with a torn ACL, and emotional leader Matthew Tkachuk, who has missed the entire season to this point after surgery over the summer to repair a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia.
The Rangers have great coaching, excellent goaltending and enough resilience to hang in there, so we can’t write them off just yet. But up until now, they haven’t shown enough for management to justify being buyers at the March 6 trade deadline and spending assets to acquire players just to help them win the battle for a last wild-card playoff spot.
Miller’s return appears imminent. Fox, snubbed by the U.S. Olympic team, has visibly improved the power play in his two games back and likely will be motivated to show USA general manager Bill Guerin he made a mistake by not putting him on the roster to go to Milan. So the team theoretically can get better from within.
If it does, and if the Rangers somehow start stringing together wins, then anything is possible.
But until that happens, Rangers fans would be advised to enjoy moments like Friday night as they come up during the season. Just don’t expect them to add up to some kind of spring surprise.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
