Rangers wrecked again by Jack Hughes and the Devils

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.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.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 th...