It's been a while — the New Jersey Devils have not defeated the New York Rangers in a game that counts since Game 7, which was 581 days ago.
Obviously as a result, the Devils are hungry to take down the New York Rangers. And it promises to be a good game with the Battle of the Hudson already being one of the NHL's most stories rivalries.
This will be the first time this season the Hudson River Rivalry will be played at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers (13-9-1) are coming off of snapping a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over fellow-Original Six team, the Montreal Canadiens. With that win in mind, the Blueshirts currently sit at tied for fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 27 points.
New Jersey is currently second in the same division with 34 points and a 16-9-2 record.
Records aside, Jack Hughes is widely considered to be the opposing team's fan-favorite player and just overall player to watch ahead of the Dec. 2 matchup. Let's break down how he could impact the Rangers on ice and what to look out for in tonight's game.
Jack Hughes
Alternate captain and center Jack Hughes has quickly become a league favorite as a result of his skill at such a young age and his charisma.
The 23-year-old is a Florida native is the middle of two other brothers — Quinn and Luke — who are also in the league. Especially worth mentioning is the youngest of the three, Luke, who is currently Jack's teammate on the Devils' squad.
Hughes has currently played in all 27 games for New Jersey so far this campaign. He is the second leading offensive producer for the Devils with 30 points. This is tallied from nine goals and an additional team-leading 21 assists.
The Devils selected Hughes with the No. 1 pick of the 2019 Draft after he led the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 112 points in 50 games in 2018-19. He came of age in the 2021-22 season with 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists) in 49 games and scored his first NHL hat trick in a 5-1 victory against the Washington Capitals in November of 2022.
He also recently made history for the Devils in March of 2023, becoming the first New Jersey player with 40 goals in a season since Zach Parise scored 45 in 2008-09.
Tying Hughes back to this specific matchup, should 6'3" Jimmy Vesey be a scratch tonight, Matt Rempe should be in the lineup against a Devils' team that actually traded in the past due to former struggles with the enforcer.
Although rookie Brett Berard will be unavailable due to injury, both Rempe and Hughes are two of the biggest young names in hockey right now.
Should both be on the ice at the same time on Monday night, it will be something historic to see.
How to Tune In
Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. EST at Madison Square Garden for the Dec. 2 Hudson River Rivarly matchup. The game is also available for streaming via Sling TV. Be sure to tune into Blue Line Station's Twitter for live updates.