The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Second Round and play the Carolina Hurricanes, who eliminated the New York Islanders with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 6 at UBS Arena on Friday.
The Rangers defeated the Devils 5-2 in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday to even the best-of-7 series.
"We worked all year long to have home-ice advantage for Game 7," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "This group has given me everything they got from Day One this year and I thought we did a lot of good stuff tonight, generated a lot of good opportunities."
The Devils (52-22-8) or Rangers (47-22-13) will begin the second round on the road because the Hurricanes (52-21-9) had a better regular-season record. Carolina won the Metropolitan Division with 113 points, one more than New Jersey and six ahead of New York.
"We've got some character and some pride," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "They didn't like the way the last three games went. They got outplayed. Tonight was a chance to redeem ourselves a little bit and now we give ourselves a chance for a Game 7, and that's huge for us."
RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]
The Devils are 7-7 in Game 7s, including 3-2 at home. They won their most recent Game 7 when they defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 in double overtime in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. They lost their most recent Game 7 on home ice, 4-3 to the Hurricanes in the 2009 conference quarterfinals.
Ondrej Palat has played six Game 7s, all for the Tampa Bay Lightning (4-2), and Brendan Smith has played five (2-3). Palat (one goal) is the only player on the Devils roster who has scored a goal in a Game 7. Timo Meier is 2-0 and has an assist in two Game 7s while playing for the San Jose Sharks.
"Win or go home, that's it," Devils captain Nico Hischier said. "Game 7 is pretty much self-explaining, so all or nothing."
Devils goalies Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek have not played a Game 7. Ruff is 0-4 in Game 7.
"You try and play your game, don't over complicate it," Schmid said. "It's a Game 7, but you just try and treat it like any other game."
The Rangers are 11-6 in Game 7, including 3-5 on the road. They were 2-0 last season, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime in the first round at Madison Square Garden and the Hurricanes 6-2 in the second round at PNC Arena.
"It sounds familiar for us," Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. "You don't want to put yourself in positions to play Game 7s, but they're some of the most fun hockey we'll play. It's one game, anything can happen, but I think we're a confident group in here."
Chris Kreider has played eight Game 7s, all for New York (7-1), with four points (three goals, one assist). Barclay Goodrow and Vladimir Tarasenko is each 4-0. Patrick Kane is 2-3 and has five assists in five games for the Chicago Blackhawks.
"It's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure, but also it's one game," Tarasenko said. "Either win and advance or you're done. This is the moment and we're looking forward to that one."
Igor Shesterkin won each Game 7 for the Rangers in the 2022 playoffs, making 39 saves against the Penguins and 37 against the Hurricanes. Jaroslav Halak is 2-1 with a 1.68 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.
Gallant is 2-1 in Game 7.
There were five Game 7s in the 2022 first round. The home team won four of them, with the Toronto Maple Leafs losing 2-1 to the Lightning at Scotiabank Arena.
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen and staff writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report
