Rangers wrecked again by Jack Hughes and the Devils

Of course, it came down to Jack Hughes. Against these Rangers, and with these Devils, who else would it be?

Hughes, who collected a hat trick the last time these two teams met two weeks ago, entered Wednesday night with 19 goals in 24 career games against the Blueshirts, and with the Rangers threatening in the third period, Hughes — who also played hero for Team USA in the gold-medal game at the Winter Olympics — delivered the dagger.

He ripped a shot past Jonathan Quick with 6:55 left in the third period, providing the insurance New Jersey needed in the Rangers’ 6-3 loss to the Devils at the Garden.

Vladislav Gavrikov, Mika Zibanejad and Conor Sheary all scored for the Blueshirts, who nearly overcame the loss of Urho Vaakanainen (upper-body injury) and Noah Laba (lower-body injury) and a lot of double-shifting that followed, but they still suffered their second loss in a row and fell to 0-7 in rivalry games against the Devils and Islanders this year. The Blueshirts have now been outscored 26-9 in those games.

So in a way, this served as a microcosm of the Rangers’ reality in the city right now. They’re at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The Devils have Hughes, who became a forever hero with his iconic goal last month in Milan. The Islanders have Matthew Schaefer — the electrifying No. 1 overall pick — and the potential for the playoff berth on Long Island. And the Blueshirts, as this latest loss illustrated, are stuck in the middle of a retool.

Less than two weeks ago, after their previous loss to the Devils when Hughes and the Devils went a perfect three-for-three with the man-advantage, Mike Sullivan didn’t mince words when talking about the Rangers’ penalty kill.

Jack Hughes celebrates after scoring a third period goal in the Devils’ 6-3 win over the Rangers on March 18, 2026 at the Garden. NHLI via Getty Images

There was a “lack of urgency,” he said. They were screening their own goaltender. They didn’t box out in front of their net.

And then Wednesday night, it all happened again.

The Blueshirts allowed the Devils to collect two more power-play goals.

Based on how the first period went, it felt as if the Rangers’ deficit could’ve been worse than a goal after the opening 20 minutes, too. They were outshot 17-3 by the Devs.

Jonathan Quick makes a save on Timo Meier during the second period of the Rangers’ loss to the Devils at the Garden. Robert Sabo for New York Post

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One of those happened to be a goal, though, as Vladislav Gavrikov’s shot from the point made it through and ended up as his 14th of the season. But the Devils quickly responded with a power-play goal from Nico Hischier and a tally from Arseny Gritsyuk.

Zibanejad’s goal 19 seconds into the second period shifted momentum back toward the Rangers, though. Sheary’s second goal in five games did, too, even after Connor Brown scored with the man advantage and Timo Meier added a goal off a rebound.

But then Hughes issued a reminder of his status in the Battle of the Hudson. The Rangers kept him quiet for more than 40 minutes, but eventually, he stepped back into his villainous role when the Devils needed it more.