The Rangers’ humiliation by the Devils stirs up some painful memories

Question while we are all attempting to make sense of what has happened to the Rangers: Was Monday at the Rock the latter-day equivalent of Nov. 13, 1979, at the Coliseum?

Oh, the Devils kicked sand in the Rangers’ faces as if the tourists from the other side of the Hudson were weaklings at the beach. The players, the social media folks, the executives who have control of the material shown on the scoreboard screen. They luxuriated in it.

It was an afternoon of mockery. Jack Hughes dominated on the ice by scoring twice in the 5-0 victory that wasn’t remotely that close, and then he dominated the video board when the clip was shown in which Rangers fans cheered wildly at their 2019 draft party on Broadway when the Devils chose No. 86 with the first overall selection … leaving Kaapo Kakko to the Blueshirts at No. 2 overall.

The New Jersey organization showed the same respect for the Rangers as the Devils on the ice did. The New Jersey organization showed the same respect for the Rangers as the Islanders organization and Islanders players did 45 years ago.