Winter Classic ‘awesome event’ for Panthers despite loss to Rangers

It was in the mid-60s with low humidity in the late afternoon, comfortable to hang out in a hockey jersey. Fans of both teams lined up to enter the fan festival, see the Stanley Cup and greet the players.

Chanting, cheering, holding up phones to take photos, hundreds lined barricades on 6th Street. The Rangers stepped off a bus in white beachy outfits and marched into the stadium with game faces. The Panthers pulled up in Ferraris. It was straight out of the song “Miami” by Will Smith.

“Hundred-thousand-dollar cars, e’ybody got ’em …”

The Panthers wore “Miami Vice” outfits — sunglasses, white suits, pastel T-shirts — for this episode of Miami ice. Some had retro brick cell phones. Some had cigars. Forward Matthew Tkachuk, out with an injury, lit a cigar and puffed away.

They had style and swagger, and they smiled and soaked up the moment, taking time to slap fives with fans. Forward Brad Marchand even stopped to sign jerseys and pose for photos.

When the teams warmed up in their throwback uniforms, the Panthers wore bucket hats like they were going to the beach, the Rangers toques, fitting the theme. The left side of the field was decorated like “sunny Florida,” the right side as “snowy winter.” The props included real palm trees and fake flamingos.

LoanDepot park has sliding glass panels in left field and a retractable roof overhead. The NHL kept the stadium closed to protect the ice until the big moment.

Fonsi took the stage, singing in Spanish here in Little Havana, and the teams came out for the game. The panels opened, showing off the lights of the Miami skyline, and the roof pulled back from left field toward first base, revealing a black sky and bright white moon.

The NHL used snow machines to simulate flurries for the Panthers entrance as pyrotechnics flared. For a few moments, flakes swirled in the air.

The players stood for the anthem with a huge U.S. flag on the ice behind them. Fireworks exploded in the sky.

Former Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, a Hockey Hall of Famer, dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off between Ekblad and Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck, who played in Florida from 2013-20. By the time the puck dropped for the game, the roof was open fully.

Role Model performed during the first intermission as Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov, also out with an injury, danced with the Stanley Cup. During stoppages, the entertainment included a belly-flop contest in a little inflatable pool.

“The ice was fine,” Maurice said. “The spectacle was incredible, the roof opening, the U.S. flag on the ice, the national anthem, all of it. It was just brilliant.”