Reminising the Rangers Outdoor Victories

Taking a look back at the past outdoor games

On Friday night, January 2nd, the New York Rangers played their sixth outdoor game at Loan Depot Park as the road team against the Florida Panthers in downtown Miami. After taking several shots and killing off two penalties, they took down the Panthers by a final score of five to one. This was a convincing game from start to finish. They have been perfect, going all the way back to 2012 with a comeback win in Philadelphia, to two games at Yankee Stadium, to Citi Field, MetLife Stadium, and now in South Florida

At the Flyers, the 2012 Winter Classic

The Rangers’ very first Winter Classic game was south down Interstate 95 when they were tasked to play the Philadelphia Flyers at the home of the Phillies in Citizens Bank Ballpark, and just next door to the then Wells Fargo Arena. After a scoreless first period, the Flyers jumped forward and took a two-goal lead from Brayden Schenn and Claude Giroux.

Moments later, Mike Rupp teamed up with Brandon Prust to beat Sergei Bobrovsky and cut the deficit to a single goal. In the third period, it was where the Rangers got the tying goal and the game-winning goal, when Rupp’s shot down the far side took a tricky shot that handcuffed Bobrovsky for the equalizer, then Brad Richards came up big to stuff in the rebound with Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan on the ice with him.

The final moment of the night was the penalty shot that was called for the Flyers when Ryan McDonagh slid into the crease and tried to knock the puck out, but was called for closing his hand on the puck inside the crease. Henrik Lundqvist made one more big save inside the final minute of regulation, stopping Daniel Briere, and the Rangers held on to take their first outdoors game victory.

At the Devils in the Bronx, day one

Two years later, the NHL decided to add another outdoor game by calling it the Stadium Series, with teams wearing funky jerseys that looked toward the future. It would be three teams and two games, as the Rangers played against the New Jersey Devils in the first game, and it was at Yankee Stadium. The Devils scored first with three goals, two of them by Patrik Elias.

Dominick Moore tied it at one, then Marc Staal, with a hard shot from the far boards, somehow squeezed it through Martin Brodeur’s pads to cut the deficit to one. In the second period, it was a four-goal barrage when Mats Zuccarello scored two goals, then Carl Hagelin, and then Rick Nash poured it on towards the Devils.

Then, head coach Pete Debour decided to pull Brodeur for his backup Corey Schneider to start the third period, but the Rangers got their seventh goal of the game when Derek Stepan, who stole the puck and attempted a breakaway. At the last moment, Travis Zajac took a whack at Stepan, and the referee called for a penalty shot. Stepan slowly skated toward the far post, waited for his time to shoot the puck, and finally snapped it off the post and in.

At the Islanders in the Bronx, day two

This time, it was the Islanders who would get their chance at the Rangers to see if they could give them their first loss in an outdoor game. After a scoreless first period, both teams were running and gunning to get that first goal. The opener finally came late in the second period when Brock Nelson got a good angle down low on the near side and swept it in.

But the Rangers found a way inside the final minute of the second period to tie the game. Zuccarello and Derrick Brassard got a new linemate in Benoit Pouliot, as they were buzzing around inside the offensive zone. After several strong saves by Evgeni Nabokov, Pouliot got a hold of the rebound and batted it in quickly to make it one all.

Just like the fourth line got the two goals in the Winter Classic in Philly, the fourth line of the Rangers got the game-winner in the second Stadium Series game for the Rangers. After a big rush by the fourth line, the save was made by Nabokov, but left the rebound wide open. Dan Carcillo skated in, and he swept it in for the winner in the third period.

Western New York comes to Queens

For the Buffalo Sabres, it was their second Winter Classic since the inaugural game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. This time, the Hockey team that represents Western New York State came down to the five boroughs and faced the Rangers at Citi Field in Flushing Meadows. The home team started well.

Two big goals from Paul Carey and Michael Grabner put the Rangers ahead, and they continued to play strongly, peppering the net against Robin Lehner, who held off the Rangers just enough to get into the net period. Sam Reinhart got the power play goal to cut the deficit in half, then in the third period, Jack Eichel tied the game. The Rangers won it on the power play in overtime when J.T. Miller got the rebound and scored for the winner.

The Swamp of the Meadowlands

This was the third Stadium Series game, but the second time against the New York Islanders. Every time these two get together in a game, anything can happen. After Erik Gustafsson blasted one at the near point for the early lead, the gloves were dropped right after the faceoff that saw Matt Martin introduce Matt Rempe to the NHL and his new following. But from that point on, it was all Islanders afterwards. Brock Nelson tied the game, then Bo Horvat took the lead, then Matthew Barzal tipped in a pass to end the first period.

In the second period, Andres Lee took the three-goal lead, then the Rangers started to make a bit of a comeback. First, Artemi Panarin with a big blast that got deflected by Vincent Trocheck’s stick on the power play. Then Trocheck gets his second of the game by banking the puck off of Ilya Sorokin. But in the third period, the Islanders got a fifth goal from Alexander Romonov.

Many thought that was it. This was the game the Rangers were finally going to lose their first outdoor game in five attempts. But the Rangers found a way to tie the game. With just over four minutes remaining in the third period, the Rangers, on the power play, got one back again when Chris Kreider deflected a shot from Panarin.

But the big moment came when Mika Zibanejad, who always camps out at the lower end of the faceoff circles, got a pass from Adam Fox and, with a one-time blast, scorched one past Sorokin to tie the game at five. The Rangers fans inside MetLife Stadium went bonkers as the game was headed to overtime. A huge mistake from the Islanders defenseman allowed Panarin to get control of the puck, and while in the act of shooting, Brock Nelson slid to knock the near post off its mouring.

The puck did hit Sorokin off his back while he was down, and it slithered completely over the goal line with the far post still intact on the ice. After a thorough review was done by the review room in Toronto, the referee announced that it was a good goal and it counted to give the Rangers their fifth consecutive outdoor game victory.

Other stats

The Rangers had three comeback victories and scored a combined 26 goals, with six of them coming from the power play. Four head coaches have won with the Rangers, from John Tortorella in Philadelphia, Alain Vigneault with both Stadium Series wins at Yankee Stadium and the Winter Classic in Citi Field. Peter Laviolette got his first outdoor victory at MetLife Stadium, and now Mike Sullivan in Miami at Loan Depot Park.

Mika Zibanejad got the first Winter Classic Hat Trick, while Mike Rupp, Mats Zuccarello, Artemi Panarin, and Vincent Trocheck have scored a pair in a game. Henrik Lundqvist has four outdoor game victories, while Igor Shesterkin earned his second. Two Overtime victories, and the Rangers have opened the scoring in their last three outdoor games.

While Henrik Lundqvist stopped a penalty shot, Derek Stepan scored a penalty shot. But the biggest number for the Rangers has always been the number of fans that have traveled either by car, train, subway, Metro North, or Long Island Railroad, and now a plane to watch their hockey team play outside the confines of Madison Square Garden or any visiting NHL arena within the tri-state area or further to support and cheer them to victory.

We will never know when or where their next outdoor game will be, or who it will be against, but right now, whenever they do go out on the ponds and play in front of a massive crowd of their own fans, they will always be cheered for, and at the moment, they will remain perfect.

New York Rangers News:

• Rangers Perfect Winter Classic Record Stays Intact, Beats the Panthers Handedly
• Rangers Lose Laba, Sheary, and the game to the Capitals
• Rangers fall in Overtime to the Hurricanes

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