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

When he knew, once and for all, that the Devils would be the Rangers’ first-round playoff opponent defenseman Adam Fox was asked if the rival from Newark reminded him at all of the Blueshirts of last year.

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

And like last year’s Rangers, this year’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, overall, how similar are the Rangers and Devils? Let’s look.

FORWARDS: Twenty-one-year-old Jack Hughes leads a young, fast forward group for a Devils team that scored the fourth-most goals in the league (291). Hughes had 43 of those goals, 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 the league in goals (277) and their top goal-scorer, Mika Zibanejad, finished with 39. Chris Kreider, who scored 52 goals last season, had 36 this year. 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.

Edge: Even.

DEFENSE: Dougie Hamilton had 22 goals and 74 points in 82 games for the Devils; Adam Fox had 12 goals and 72 points in 82 games for the Rangers, so the No. 1 defenseman for both teams are comparable, at least offensively. Fox, though, 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…