In the New Jersey Devils’ 5-0 win over the New York Rangers on Monday, Jack Hughes had a big game. Hughes has historically played well against the Devils’ Hudson River rivals, something the Devils made sure the Rangers and their fans won’t soon forget.
It was a three-point afternoon for Hughes in the afternoon match-up ahead of the short holiday break, with two goals and an assist. He started the scoring for the day, putting one past Jonathan Quick less than five minutes into the game. Another goal came on the power play. Hughes was the first star of the game.
Back in 2019, in what’s now an infamous clip, Rangers fans celebrated the Devils selecting Hughes as the first-overall draft pick. Their reason for cheering was that Kaapo Kakko was available for the Rangers to select second-overall.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Hughes is 23-years-old and holds the single-season points record for the Devils. He has 15 career goals against the Rangers. Kakko did not pan out the way the Rangers hoped. They recently traded him to the Seattle Kraken.
Halfway through the third period during Monday’s game, the Devils played the video of the Rangers fans draft reaction on the Prudential Center Jumbotron. Following the clip, the camera panned to Hughes, grinning and laughing on the bench. Fans were able to see Hughes’ amusement with the Jumbotron trolling.
OH MY GOD.
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) December 23, 2024
The #NJDevils just played the video of Rangers fans cheering when Jack Hughes got drafted.
Jack bursted out into laughter when they showed him on the jumbotron. pic.twitter.com/a3bwQogl5j
There are always plenty of Rangers fans in attendance at Devils vs. Rangers games at The Rock. So in addition to their team being shut out, Rangers fans in attendance were treated to a reminder of their mistake in underestimating the Devils’ 2019 draft selection. Jack Hughes has become exactly the superstar his franchise needed.
The Devils are in first place in the Metropolitan Division by points and second place by points percentage. Their victory on Monday marked back-to-back shutout wins. Meanwhile, the Rangers are struggling. They are 3-7 in their last ten games and are tied for sixth in the Metropolitan Division standings, just one point ahead of the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jack Hughes is tied with Jesper Bratt with 45 points this season, the most on the team. He is now hovering right around a 100-point pace for the season. Hughes came close to breaking 100 points two seasons ago, ending the 2022-23 season with 99.
In his post-game interview with Rachel Herzog as the first star of the game, Hughes shared that he gets fired up for the rivalry match-ups. He spent a moment taking in the fans’ cheers before noting how unbelievable the crowd was. Hughes is not usually animated during an interview, but he smiled and laughed as he spoke with Herzog. Vibes are high for the Devils heading into the holiday break.