NEWARK -- The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers renew acquaintances in the Hudson River Rivalry for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round when they face off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh time.
It's the first series between the teams since the 2012 Eastern Conference Final, when the Devils won in six games. Prior to this season, New Jersey's only playoff appareance since then was a five-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2018 first round.
The Devils (52-22-8) finished second in the Metropolitan Division, setting the New Jersey/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts records for wins and points (112). The Rangers (47-22-13) were third.
New Jersey won a regular-season series (3-0-1) against New York for the first time since 2017-18. During the past 10 seasons, the team winning the season series against an opponent is 71-51 when facing that team in the ensuing playoffs.
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"I think it's at a high level, regardless who your opponent is, but I think there's an added level probably against a team you're playing just across the river," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "It's going to be a great opportunity for every player in our room to get to experience this and live it."
Jack Hughes will play his first NHL postseason game after setting the Devils/Rockies/Scouts record with 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) in 78 regular-season games.
The Rangers are back in the playoffs after losing the Eastern Conference Final in six games to the Lightning last season. New York went 36-12-8 in its final 56 games this season, going 12-3-4 while not allowing more than three goals in a game since March 9.
"We expect to go and win the Stanley Cup," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "That's what we expect to do on Day One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I think everybody in that room believes we can win a Stanley Cup. I think everybody in that room knows we can lose in the first round if we don't play our best hockey. It's a battle. There's no bad teams out there."
Teams that win Game 1 are 507-235 (63.8 percent) winning the best-of-7 series, including 8-7 (53.3 percent) last season.
Here are 3 keys for Game 1: