Former New York Rangers forward Alexander Wennberg has landed a nice payday, as he has signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension with the San Jose Sharks.

MIAMI -- Have a day, Mika Zibanejad. He made Sweden's Olympic team, had a hat trick and put together the first five-point NHL outdoor game in history, all in the span of a few hours, to help the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Friday night in the Winter Classic — the first outdoor game played in the Sunshine State.

While he is far from the only forward whom the team needs more from, he has had a long run of top six and power-play opportunities so far this season.

The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers meet in the Winter Classic Friday at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

More than halfway through the 2025-26 season, the New York Rangers are somewhat surprisingly one of the best defensive teams

The Rangers have more wins in outdoor games all time than the 2025-26 team has wins at Madison Square Garden. After showing the Panthers the Winter Classic belongs to the North, however, the Blueshirts are hoping it was the kind of win that starts a new chapter of the campaign. That needs to begin Monday night at home against the Mammoth.

The New York Rangers remained undefeated in outdoor games (6-0-0) and tied Pittsburgh (2-3-1 in 6 GP) and Philadelphia (1-4-1 in 6 GP) for the second-most outdoor games played, behind Chicago (1-6-0 in 7 GP).