The upcoming date of Wednesday, June 4 should be marked on New York Rangers' fans calendars.
That's because it marks when tickets go on sale for the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic outdoor game featuring the Florida Panthers hosting the New York Rangers. The game is slated to take place at loanDepot park, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, in Florida on Jan. 2, 2026. Additionally, this particular Winter Classic makes history in that it will be the first-ever NHL outdoor game staged in the Sunshine State.
Speaking of history — the first ever NHL Winter Classic was held in 2008, with this upcoming matchup between the Rangers and Panthers being the 17th Winter Classic in league history
The Rangers have an overall record of 68-42-6-7(57.7%) against the Panthers. Among only regular season games, the Rangers have a 62-37-6-7 (58.0%) record. During the 2024-25 year, the Rangers won one game against the Panthers and lost the other two.
As per the NHL's press release, the 2025-26 schedule will include the No. 44 and No. 45 NHL regular-season outdoor games. To date, the league’s regular season outdoor games have attracted a total of 2,240,068 fans.
The Rangers' success outdoors
The reason Blueshirt fans should look forward to the 2026 Winter Classic is because the Rangers have an incredibly successful history in ourdoor NHL games.
They boast an undefeated 5-0 record in such matchups.
This dates back to the 2012 Winter Classic in Philadelphia in which the Rangers defeated the Flyers 3-2 and featured Blueshirts and goaltending legend Henrik Lundqvist stopping a penalty shot in the final seconds at Citizens Bank Park. The 2014 Stadium Series saw the Rangers take game one with a 7-3 win over the Devils and then a 2-1 win over the Islanders in game two.
The two most recent outdoor games for the Rangers were a 3-2 OT win against Buffalo in 2018 at Citi Field and then a 6-5 OT win over the Islanders in 2024 at MetLife Stadium — which featured a crowd of over 79,000 watching fan-favorite enforcer Matt Rempe making his debut in dramatic fashion.
Fans will be able to purchase tickets to the Blueshirts' appearance in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic starting Wednesday, June 4, at 10 a.m. ET, here via Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of the NHL.