Rangers looking to turn season around with Winter Classic win

The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers square off in the 2026 NHL Winter Classic on Friday, taking place in LoanDepot Park in Miami, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.

While the Panthers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, the Rangers have lost three straight and find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. With no J.T. Miller or Conor Sheary in the lineup, there’s plenty of concern for New York fans.

There’s also some controversy attached to the club following Friday’s news of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey roster being announced, with Rangers’ defender Adam Fox being left off, despite New York head coach Mike Sullivan leading the way for the Americans and general manager Chris Drury being part of the U.S. managerial staff.

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremhcuk and former NHL video coach Steve Peters are joined by Morning Cuppa Hockey co-host Jonny Lazarus to discuss the Rangers’ season so far and whether a win in Friday’s Winter Classic could turn the season around.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Are the Rangers hoping that this game could be a galvanizing turning point for them? Or is hope kind of faded in the Big Apple?

Jonny Lazarus: That’s the thing about New York: As soon as you lose hope, they always find a way to drag you back in. I think that’s the frustrating thing for fans, they want to hate them and not have any hope, and rather them just not be good.

The Rangers have lost three games in a row, but if they come out and beat Florida in the Winter Classic — the defending Stanley Cup champions who have been playing pretty well, as of late — then of course, that’s going to give fans some hope that maybe, they could turn things around.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…