The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have one of the best rivalries in sports. The cross-river beef is mainly within the fanbase, but there is a lot of animosity on the ice as well. We saw last season with the Matt Rempe nonsense, as the Rangers flavor of the month got kicked out of every Devils matchup for his reckless play and overall inability to stay clean.
Yet, despite the rivalry, the two sides tend to give each other credence when it's earned. That is what happened when Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was asked about who his hardest opponent's shot to repel.
Igor Shesterkin picks the three players whose shots are hardest for him to repel (Eng sub) pic.twitter.com/lebqxhW4Uz
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) August 8, 2024
So of all of the players in the league, Jack Hughes is in the same breath as Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, two of the very best players this game has ever seen. That is what the best goalie in the league had to say about Hughes.
Shesterkin and Hughes have played each other plenty over their relatively short careers. Hughes has been in the NHL since 2019, and he's played the Rangers 20 times in the regular season and seven times in the playoffs. He as 20 regular season points, including 11 goals.
Even last year, with the Devils losing every game against the Rangers, Jack Hughes still had a point in all four games against his rival. Shesterkin knows that Hughes steps up his game during these matchups, and he becomes the ceiling Jack Hughes we know he can become.
The playoff matchup saw one goal turn it on its head. With the Devils down in the series 2-1, Game 4 was crucial. The Devils losing that game would make the Game 3 win just a blip. Instead, Hughes stepped up, and he delivered when the Devils needed an answer.
It was a play that came within inches of the Rangers scoring (ironically with the 2019 second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko on the ice). Hughes made his way behind the Rangers defense, and he deked Shesterkin out of his skates. That goal is likely still living with him, as the Devils beat the Rangers on their home ice 3-1 to tie the series.
Hughes has points in every one of his last nine games against the Rangers. This is why Shesterkin puts Hughes in that stratosphere. When he's playing the Rangers, Hughes is absolutely one of the best players in the NHL.