Hockey. Outdoors. In Florida. Next season, the NHL is making it happen twice. The NHL announced Wednesday that the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will play host to the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park in Miami on Jan.

Three of the Lightning’s next four games are Atlantic Division matchups, with opportunity to move ahead in the standings.

MIAMI (AP) — Hockey. Outdoors. In Florida. Next season, the NHL is making it happen — twice. “Stanley Cups, strings of sellouts and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey ...

The NHL announced Wednesday that the Florida Panthers will host the 2026 Winter Classic, facing the New York Rangers on Jan. 2 at loanDepot park, home of the Miami Marlins. “Our time has come that we deserve an outdoor game,” Panthers president and CEO Matt Caldwell said. “We’re fired up to have it right here locally.”

Each of the Panthers’ past seven games has either been decided by one goal or was a one-goal game until the winning team scored on an empty net.

The Anaheim Ducks wrapped up a disappointing road trip with a matchup, the first game of a home-and-home series, against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. The Ducks were coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, which brought their point tally to three on their season-long six-game road trip.

Classic will feature the Panthers against the Rangers at the Miami Marlins' home park and the Stadium Series game will be played between the Lightning and Bruins at the home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Florida Panthers will host the 2026 Winter Classic next season against the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park in Miami, the NHL announced on Wednesday. The game will take place on Jan. 2, 2026.

Special teams and defensive responsibility served as the bedrock to the Tampa Bay Lightning's fine first half in the immediate post-Steven Stamkos era.

The Anaheim Ducks and the host Florida Panthers, who are set to meet on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla., both lost on Thursday.

The Tampa Bay Lightning face a difficult challenge ahead with two back-to-back contests in their upcoming four-game road trip.