​Thursday night’s win had a pleasant throwback attached to it for the New Jersey Devils fans. A game that was locked up at zero as the first period was winding down became a blowout. It started with Evan Rodrigues’ goal to wrap up the first, followed by a four-goal second, and two more in the third to provide an exclamation-point 7-1 victory over the New York Rangers. For the fans, it was a throwback to the 4-0 Game 7 win in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The rival Rangers were run out of town not only with a loss but also with a dominant performance by the Devils.Reinvigorated Rangers Make Devils Hudson River Rivals A Measuring Stick GameFor both the Devils and the Rangers, an otherwise insignificant October matchup carries weight and says a lot about two teams with high expectations in the Metropolitan Division. It was arguably the first game all season where the Devils controlled the play from the start. Yes, they had a decisive 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 10, but the Devils set the tone early and never looked back. In the second period in particular, it seemed like they scored on every possession. The key for the Devils is sustaining that strong play on the offensive end all season. They won’t score seven every night and might not for the rest of the season. That said, they’ve been hot lately, with 12 goals in the last two games. The question is whether they can keep it up throughout the season. Can they sustain this high-level offense to make a difference at the end of the day? The 7-1 win over the Rangers was a promising sign. Hischier Is Heating Up At The Right TimeThe Devils go as their captain goes. Sure, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt are the highlight players, the ceiling for the team and the scoring, specifically, but Hischier is the backbone and raises their floor. When he struggled in the first few games, so did the Devils. Now Hischier’s starting to heat up. He scored twice in the win over the Canucks, then stepped up in all three zones in the 5-4 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings. The team has followed his lead, with three wins in the last four games to move to 4-3 in seven games. Hischier once again found the back of the net by getting to the net and powering a loose puck home. “It’s a hard league to score goals, and a lot of goals are scored around the net-front area,” Hischier noted after the recent win. On a team of skilled forwards, he’s the one who gets to the dirty areas for his goals, and it’s why he has a team-leading four on the season. “You hear a lot of coaches preaching from a young age that when you get to the net, good things happen,” Hischier added, and good things are happening, to say the least. The Offensive Zone Chaos Is Setting Up The Devils OffenseThe game against the Rangers showcased what the offense can do. Dylan Garand was playing well as the Rangers’ backup, entering the game with a .951 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.15 goals-against average (GAA) on 81