The New Jersey Devils didn’t just dominate their archrivals the New York Rangers on the ice Monday night in a decisive 5-0 victory. They also flexed their social media muscles after the game, taking several playful jabs at the floundering Blueshirts franchise in what’s shaping up to be the NHL’s next great rivalry.
Budding superstar center Jack Hughes led the way for the Devils with two goals and an assist in the lopsided win at the Prudential Center in Newark. The 21-year-old phenom, drafted 1st overall by New Jersey in 2019, is blossoming into one of the game’s most electrifying talents in his fourth NHL season.
Devils Revel in Draft Day Disappointment for Rangers Fans
After lighting the lamp twice to propel his team to victory, Hughes found himself the subject of some good-natured trolling by the Devils’ social media squad. They dug up an old video from the 2019 NHL Draft of dejected Rangers fans at their draft party realizing New Jersey had snagged Hughes at #1, leaving them to “settle” for Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko with the 2nd pick.
The Devils edited the clip to show a giant red “L” over the Rangers logo on the Madison Square Garden jumbotron, hammering home who got the better end of that draft day decision. To twist the knife, they even showed Hughes smirking at the video on the Prudential Center scoreboard while his team was up 4-0 in the third period.
ceLebrate good times.
– The Devils’ Twitter caption on the edited Rangers draft party video
Rangers Depicted in Fiery Hudson River Dumpster
Not content to end their social media onslaught there, the Devils escalated from Twitter to Instagram with a final parting shot at their vanquished foes. They posted an image depicting the Rangers logo photoshopped onto a dumpster floating in the Hudson River, fully engulfed in flames.
With the cheeky caption “Safe travels across the Hudson,” the Devils gloated in their emphatic win while mocking the Rangers’ underwhelming 16-17-1 record this season. It was a figurative dunking nearly as decisive as the one New Jersey administered on the ice.
An Emerging Rivalry With More Chapters to Come
Monday’s tilt marked the second win in as many tries for the Devils over the Rangers this season, with two more matchups looming in 2024-25. So far, New Jersey has outscored their Manhattan counterparts by a combined score of 10-1 in a pair of blowouts that suggest a changing of the guard in this area rivalry.
- Devils’ Record vs Rangers This Season: 2-0-0
- Aggregate Score: 10-1
With the Devils loading up on young talent like Hughes during their ongoing rebuild, and the Rangers struggling to make the most of aging veterans like Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider, the Battle of the Hudson looks poised to swing in New Jersey’s favor for the foreseeable future.
While the action between these adversaries on the ice is must-see TV, the burgeoning off-ice animosity playing out in real-time on social media is quickly becoming the NHL’s most entertaining sideshow. The next chapters can’t come soon enough in this devilishly fun rivalry.
