The Rangers entered Thursday night’s matchup with the Maple Leafs unsure of who would be waiting for them in the first round of the playoffs, but by the end of it, they were set for their first postseason meeting with the Devils since 2012.

That is just how the NHL unfolded this season, with several playoff matchups left up in the air until the second-to-last day of the league’s schedule.

It did not disappoint, however, as the Metropolitan Division chips fell in a Rangers-Devils series and a Hurricanes-Islanders series.

The Hurricanes fended off the Panthers, 6-4, to clinch the Metro crown, while the Rangers just had to focus on making it to the end of their eventual 3-2 loss to Toronto in one piece.

The Rangers were successful in that endeavor, which tees up a highly anticipated Round 1 matchup between two of the most exciting teams of the 2022-23 season.

Battle of the Hudson. A standoff for tri-state relevance. The winner will establish superiority.

This will be the seventh all-time postseason meeting between the Rangers and Devils, two teams who have gone through rebuilds in recent years and have made it to the other side.

The Devils’ may have taken a bit longer than the Rangers, but they busted onto the scene this season and dazzled in the limelight.

Last season, the Rangers were the unexperienced team to watch out for during their conference-finals finishing run.

This year, it’s the Devils who could ride their naivety and explosive play in a lengthy postseason run.

The Devils have qualified for the postseason only once in the last 10 campaigns.

The last time was the 2017-18 season, when they lost in five games to the Lightning.

Key players such as Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Nathan Bastian and Michael McLeod are among the club’s group of eight players who have zero postseason experience.

But if any team knows how little that all means, it’s the Rangers, who looked like a seasoned group Thursday night against Toronto.