Rangers' Mika Zibanejad records first hat trick in Winter Classic history, keys victory over Panthers

MIAMI — The Rangers are in the battle of their lives as they try to get back into the playoffs after last season’s miss.

It might help them if they could play the rest of their games outdoors.

Mika Zibanejad had a hat trick and two assists, Artemi Panarin added two goals and an assist and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves to power the Rangers to a 5-1 win over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Friday night before a sellout crowd of 36,153 at this season’s NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot Park, the home of baseball’s Miami Marlins.

The win ended the Rangers’ losing streak at three games and extended their undefeated streak in outdoor games to 6-0.

“These events are a lot more fun and a lot more memorable when you win,’’ said Zibanejad, whose hat trick was the first in the Winter Classic’s 17-year history (he set a record with his five points, too). “So undefeated outdoors. So that was a big one for us.’’

Zibanejad’s power-play goal in the first period pulled him into a tie for the franchise lead in power-play goals with 116. He is tied with his pal Chris Kreider and Camille Henry. Oh, and his big night came on the same day that he was officially named to Sweden’s Olympic team.

Zibanejad is the second Ranger to have a hat trick this season. Taylor Raddysh had one against San Jose on Oct. 23.

“I think it’s hard to grasp the whole day like that, but it’s been a great 12, 16 hours,’’ he said. “It’s been a fun day.’’

It was a fun day for all of the Rangers and their fans who traveled to Miami to experience the spectacle of an outdoor game on a beautiful 63-degree night with the stadium roof open and the stars above.

Alexis Lafreniere had three assists and Vincent Trocheck, named to the U.S. Olympic team earlier in the day, had two for the Rangers (20-18-5 overall, 15-8-2 on the road).

Trocheck said he didn’t know whether he’d make the Olympic team and was nervous when he got a call from Team USA general manager Bill Guerin.

“I figured that I’d get a call either way, just because I was there [on the U.S. team for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament] last year,’’ he said. “So getting a call from him was nerve-wracking. But at the end of the day, it’s just an honor to be mentioned in the same breath with a lot of these [fellow U.S. Olympic team] guys.’’

The Rangers’ power play went 2-for-3 and is 3-for-4 in the two games since Adam Fox returned from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss 14 games.

“Obviously, when you get a player like Foxy back, it helps a lot,’’ Lafreniere said. “He’s one of the best power-play players in the league, I’d say, so to have him back, it’s big.’’

Zibanejad got the Rangers on the board at 15:09 of the opening period when he redirected a pass from Lafreniere past Sergei Bobrovsky. When the Rangers doubled the lead 1:04 later, on a blue-line shot by Panarin through a maze of bodies in front, Zibanejad initially got credit for it before the goal was given to Panarin.

Regardless of who scored it, Shesterkin said getting an early two-goal lead allowed him to relax. “For sure, it’s awesome,’’ he said. “Especially when you score two quick goals. It’s much easier to play. [There’s] not too much pressure.’’

The Rangers made it 3-0 six seconds after their second power play ended as Zibanejad swept in a pass from Lafreniere on an odd-man rush at :58 of the second period. They briefly celebrated when Trocheck batted a puck out of the air that went in at 10:01 of the second period, but it was waved off immediately as being knocked in with a high stick.

Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal at 2:20 of the third period to pull the Panthers within 3-1. But Panarin’s second goal, with Uvis Balinskis in the box for hooking Matt Rempe, put the Rangers up 4-1 at 12:25.

Reinhart appeared to get a second goal with 2:21 left, but it was ruled that he kicked the puck in. Zibanejad completed his hat trick into the empty net with 1:28 left.

“We’re in the middle of an Eastern Conference where there’s only a handful of points that separate most of the teams, and so every point is so vitally important as far as trying to stay in the playoff race,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said.

“The energy around an event like this, and a lot of the activity around an event like this, sometimes, if you’re not careful . . . you’ll lose sight of the fact that these are two real important points in the standings. And that was something that we tried to have a discussion with the players about, and just making sure that when the puck dropped, that everybody understands what’s on the line here.’’

Notes & quotes: The Rangers were without injured captain J.T. Miller (upper-body injury, six games missed) and forwards Noah Laba (upper-body injury) and Conor Sheary (long-term injured reserve, lower-body injury) . . . Brett Berard and Justin Dowling, called up from AHL Hartford on Thursday, entered the lineup to replace Laba and Sheary . . . Anton Blidh, who also was called up from Hartford, and D Urho Vaakanainen were the scratches.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.