• Rangers win the series four games to one.

{{:NHL Eastern Conference Bracket}}

• Regular Season Records (W-L-OTL): Devils 46-29-7, 99 points; Rangers 42-27-13, 97 points
• Leading Scorers (G-A-PTS): Devils, Zach Parise 32-33-65; Rangers, Jaromir Jagr, 25-46-71
• {{credit|jon m}} - Crief:
  • "The Hatfields and McCoys, Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 50 Cent and Kanye West, the Devils and Rangers..." "What are rivals that hate each other?"

Indeed, the Devils and Rangers rivalry has always been intense, and this series should see a ratcheting up of the hatred to extreme levels. But be warned, these are not your father's Devils. Oh sure, they're ideal is to win low-scoring games featuring a defense-first mentality in both their forwards and rearguards. Still, the blueline doesn't feature anyone named Stevens, Niedermayer, Rafalski, or even Danyeko. Yet, the foursome of Mike Mottau, Colin White, Paul Martin and John Oduya have been solid. The Rangers signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury in the off-season were with an eye towards the playoffs, and Jaromir Jagr may be playing for a new contract. The two squads mirrored each other in PP and PK numbers for the season, and many would argue that Henrik Lundqvist, with a league-leading 10 shutouts and 7 wins against the Devils, allows the goaltending position to be a toss-up. Still, as great as Lundqvist was this season, until he wins four playoff games against the best goaltender of this generation, the advantage in a best-of-seven series belongs slightly to the Devils. If Martin Brodeur plays like he did in last year's playoff loss to Ottawa, the Rangers could win in as few as five games. If he plays like his overall body of work suggests, the Devils may find a way to win."

• • • NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that the author of the above series preview is a die-hard Devils fan.