It is now as it was four months ago — Jack versus Kakko, and Kakko versus Jack.
But finally the debate will be played out on the ice, as top-overall pick Jack Hughes suits up for the free-falling Devils as they play host to second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko and his nascent Rangers in Newark on Thursday night.
Through all the hype in the lead-up to June’s draft then the subsequent talks of a decade-long resurrection of the Hudson River Rivalry, the first incarnation is here.
“[Kakko] is 18 years old, I’m sure him and Hughes have had their eye on each other for a long time,” Rangers coach David Quinn said after Wednesday’s practice in Tarrytown.