It was not so much a feeling of anticipation. A year ago, the first two overall picks in the NHL draft went to teams about six miles apart for the first time ever, and we would not all be surprised to see how the rivalry between the Devils does not develop Nr. 1, Jack Hughes, and the Rangers’ no. 2, Cape Kakko?
Well, of course, the future lies ahead of the two 19-year-olds, which is pretty good, as their one season of the NHL past is the biggest joint statistical flop in more than two decades.
Hughes, who was broadcast as a top-six center at the early age of 18, scored 21 points (7-14) for the Devils, while Kakko, who struggled to unite in the North American game, scored 23 (10-23) on the other hand. side of the Hudson.
You have to go all the way back to 1997 to find a concept in which the top two overall picks were both position players and combined for fewer points in the year immediately following the picks than Hughes and Kakko did.
But do you know what? If Hughes and Kakko follow the first two overall picks of that year, the Devils and Rangers will meet on a ferry in the middle of the Hudson and dance the night away.
Because in 1997, the first overall choice was Joe Thornton, on his way to the Hall of Fame despite a 3-4 = 7 rookie season in Boston under head coach Pat Burns, which made the center a healthy scratch more than 20 times.
And in 1997, Patrick Marleau, the second overall pick, was on his way to the Hall of Fame after a more representative first-year season in which he scored 32 points (13-19) to score a total of 39 points for the athletes who, 23 seasons later , is still in the league.
And let me tell you, Hughes danced all night in the Garden on Thursday, picking up some goals and aiding in a striking performance to play alongside 47-goal-scoring MacKenzie Blackwood in the 4th game. 3 victory.
The young man added musculature to his frame with diligent off-season work that made him fight in those 50-50 areas, but Hughes just never stopped moving his feet. He was dynamic and mercury, while thriving under head coach Lindy Ruff, who had worked on the other side of the Hudson as an assistant for the past three years.
“My confidence level is high, of course,” said Hughes, who has six points (2-4) through three games. “I think it has always been high, but we build and I build personally.
‘Lindy wants me to play a quick 200-foot game, and he believes I can play against all four lines. So, for me, the better I’m going to play is when our line has the puck and takes offense, so it’s part of my game, to hunt the puck and loot guys. ‘
Hughes struck with a tap from the goal line when a shot from a shaky Alexandar Georgiev looked down and landed in the crease to give the Devils a 4:13 lead from the second, just 1:23 after the Rangers had made the score equal. Hughes took his second place on a breakaway, and he ran to the left before a backhand pierced through the five-hole, after blocking a Jacob Trouba shot on point, 3-1 ahead at 8: 38. After the Blueshirts closed to 3-2, Hughes found Miles Wood on the right porch with a dazzling slanted appearance for the 4-2 goal at the power play at 4 p.m.
“The cock got me,” Hughes said, as if he were an innocent bystander. “It was a good time for our line. We need to keep it rolling. ”
Kakko, meanwhile, scored no points, but he played a strong game. Indeed, the Finn had a 21-6 advantage in 11:22 from five-on-five times as he and linemen Filip Chytil (22-8) and Phillip DiGiuseppe put the game under the hash points for shifts on ‘ once controlled. . Kakko had a difficult one on the first night, but he seemed comfortable with the shooter and confident without it.
He was a highlight in this one on a night when the Rangers did get some power plays from the big boys Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, but few of their best guns. Ryan Strome, who has been running for a while, was somehow on the ice for just one Rangers five-on-five shot attempt in 12:48, according to Naturalsttrick.com. It seems impossible.
It’s still early. Early in the season, impossibly early in the careers of Hughes and Kakko, who are out to prove that last year was a deviation and that the future lies ahead of them all.
The present was quite good for Hughes.