Rangers vs. Devils: How they match up in the first round

When he knew the Devils would be the Rangers’ first-round playoff opponent, defenseman Adam Fox was asked if the Blueshirts’ rival reminds him at all of last season’s Rangers, who had an outstanding regular season and then won two playoff series.

Yes, Fox said, they do. Like last season’s Rangers, this season’s Devils emerged from a franchise rebuild by winning 52 games and establishing themselves as an elite team and a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup.

And like last season’s Rangers, this season’s Devils are blessed with plenty of skill and speed on offense, though they also enter the playoffs coming off a five-year absence from postseason play.

So how similar are the Rangers and Devils? Let’s look.

FORWARDS

Jack Hughes, 21, leads a young, fast forward group for a Devils team that scored the fourth-most goals (291) in the league. Hughes had 43, including four in four games against the Rangers. The Devils had two other 30-goal scorers in Jesper Bratt (32) and captain Nico Hischier (31), and trade-deadline acquisition Timo Meier had 40, though 31 of those were scored for San Jose. The Rangers were 12th in goals (277) and their top goal-scorer, Mika Zibanejad, finished with 39. Chris Kreider, who scored 52 goals last season, had 36 this season. Artemi Panarin, who led the team in scoring (92 points), had 28. The Kid Line of Filip Chytil (22 goals), Kaapo Kakko (18) and Alexis Lafreniere (16) gives the Rangers scoring depth. Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko were brought in to deliver in the playoffs.

Edge: Even

DEFENSE

Dougie Hamilton had 22 goals and 74 points in 82 games for the Devils; Fox had 12 goals and 72 points in 82 games for the Rangers, so both No. 1 defensemen are comparable, at least offensively. Fox plays more minutes, on average, than Hamilton, who doesn’t kill penalties. K’Andre Miller had nine goals and 43 points and was credited with 162 hits, more than any Devils player. Jacob Trouba was credited with 218 hits and 196 blocked shots, which was fourth-most in the league.

Edge: Rangers

GOALTENDING

Vitek Vanecek had a fine season with the Devils, stabilizing the position for the team in his first year in New Jersey after signing a three-year, $10.2 million contract as a free agent last summer. His 2.45 goals-against average and .911 save percentage were career bests. Although his numbers this season were comparable to Igor Shesterkin’s (2.48 GAA, .916 save percentage), Shesterkin’s career numbers (2.37 GAA, .924 save percentage) are much better than Vanecek’s (2.59, .909).

Edge: Rangers

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Rangers’ power play finished seventh in the league, scoring on 24.1% of its chances. The Devils were 13th (21.9%). Zibanejad had a career-high 20 goals on the power play. The Devils’ penalty kill was fourth-best overall, killing 82.6% of shorthanded situations. The Rangers were 13th with an 81.2% success rate. The Devils had nine goals in 230 times shorthanded; the Rangers had eight in 223 times shorthanded.

Edge: Even

COACHING

Devils fans, who called for Lindy Ruff to be fired late last season, apologized to their coach early this season, chanting “Sorry, Lindy!’’ during a game after the team’s fast start. Those fans realized their team was on track to have a great season. Although Ruff led the Devils to a 52-win campaign, his overall record behind the New Jersey bench is 98-98-24. Gerard Gallant, in two seasons as the Rangers’ bench boss, is 99-46-19 (.662), which is the second-highest points percentage behind Mike Keenan (.667) for any coach in club history. Both Ruff and Gallant have won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year. Gallant was a finalist last season, as Ruff might be this season. Both have reached the Stanley Cup Final once: Ruff with the Buffalo Sabres in 1999, Gallant with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. Both lost in the Cup Final. Gallant has coached 705 regular-season games and 53 playoff games (28-25); Ruff has coached 1,713 regular-season games and 120 playoff games (66-54). He last coached in the playoffs in 2016 with Dallas.

Edge: Ruff

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.