Rangers find the door wide open after Bruins, Avalanche upset

NEWARK — All eyes were on the Rangers and Devils in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series Monday night at Prudential Center. The other seven first-round playoff series had already been decided and the winner would be the final team to advance to the second round.

But aside from the obvious that the Game 7 winner would advance and the loser would be eliminated , the results of Sunday’s games provided extra opportunity to whoever came out of the Devils-Rangers series.

With the Bruins shockingly losing to wild-card Florida after a record-setting regular season with 65 wins and 135 points, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche falling to second-year franchise and playoff debutants Seattle, the path to the Stanley Cup Final is now wide open in both the Eastern and Western conferences.

The winner of Monday night's contest has a legitimate shot to go all the way and lift the Stanley Cup next month. Having said that, it was something that neither the Devils nor Rangers could allow themselves to think about before their showdown in Newark.

“It doesn't make one bit of difference,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said after his team’s optional morning skate. “I think [Boston and Colorado], they're both great teams, but before [the playoffs] started . . . I thought that anybody could win. And that's what I believe.’’

The losses of Boston and Colorado — both on home ice — illustrated just how unpredictable Game 7s can be.

“As we always talked about, the NHL is close,’’ Gallant said. “I mean, to see Boston have the great season they had . . . it's tough to see a team lose like that. But that's the NHL. The teams are so close. And any given night, anybody can beat anybody.’’

“I just think that's the NHL for you today,’’ Patrick Kane said. “There's so much parity in the league. Any given team can win. And usually, the best team comes out on top in a best-of-seven series, but yeah, anything can happen.’’

The Rangers, who played in two Game 7s in last year’s run to the Eastern Conference final, entered Monday with a bit more experience in those games compared to the young Devils. Sixteen of the Rangers’ 18 skaters, plus goaltender Igor Shesterkin and backup Jaroslav Halak, had previously played in a Game 7. Chris Kreider had played in eight of them (winning seven). Only Jimmy Vesey and Niko Mikkola had not played in a Game 7.

The Devils had 10 players who had previously played in a Game 7, and none of their goaltenders — Vitek Vanecek, Mackenzie Blackwood or rookie Akira Schmid — were included in that list. New Jersey's Ondrej Palat, though, scored the winning goal against the Rangers in a Game 7 in 2015, while playing for Tampa Bay.

Historically, the Rangers and Devils had played two Game 7s against each other. Once in 1992 and then again in an epic Eastern Conference final in 1994. Both games were at Madison Square Garden and the Rangers won both — 8-4 in 1992 and 2-1 in double overtime on Stephane Matteau’s memorable wraparound goal past Martin Brodeur in 1994.

Kane, who won three Stanley Cups with Chicago, had played in five Game 7s. He’d won two and lost three.

“There's a lot of nerves, a lot of excitement around the game,’’ Kane said. “Knowing that you win one game, you can advance. So there’s a lot of excitement to it. I mean, your season either continues or it's over at the end of the game. So you're going to be shaking hands [after it], no matter what.’’

Kane, 34, is the second-oldest Ranger behind Halak, and was asked what his message to his teammates would be going into the game.

“I don't think much needs to be said,’’ he said. “The guys in here have had a lot of experience, even going back to last year with being successful in Game 7s, and I think all of us have played our fair share of them. So whether it was in Juniors, or here in the NHL, or in the minor leagues, whatever it is, there's nothing like Game 7.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.