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If the Devils are a bunch of rebels, as their head coach, Lindy Ruff, has described them, the Rangers are the mercenaries hired to quash the uprising.

At least, that was the case during the Rangers’ convincing 5-1 win over the Devils in Game 1 of this 2023 Battle of the Hudson playoff series on Tuesday night at Prudential Center.

Led by two power-play goals from Chris Kreider and four assists by Adam Fox, the Rangers kept their opponents in check and assumed control, while the Devils, with four players making their postseason debuts, were a bit erratic at times.

That made for a lopsided series-opener, which began with Devils fans taking a page out of the Penguins’ book by taunting Igor Shesterkin and ended with those same fans, clad in red, retreating to the exits of their home arena before the final horn sounded.

The Rangers expect the Devils to counterattack furiously in Game 2 on Thursday.

“Obviously, they didn’t have their best game tonight,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said. “They got frustrated a little bit, but they’re a talented team and they’re going to come back ready to play Game 2. Things went our way tonight, we played well, we got a lead early.

“I thought we played a good 60-minute hockey game.”

The moment seemed to get a bit too big for the Devils, especially early on.

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That was only exacerbated by the Rangers’ fierce determination to possess the puck for every minute of every period.

The Rangers flew at the Devils sideways to disrupt their transition game.

Individual Rangers beat two-to-three Devils players to the puck at a time. And when the slightest bit of open ice appeared, the Rangers jumped on it as a general exploits his enemy’s weak point.

Shesterkin, who finished with 27 saves, was heroic in his role as the Rangers’ last line of defense, stopping every shot he faced during regular play before Jack Hughes’ penalty shot late in the third period ended his shutout bid.

“I think we played well most of the game, but still gave up [too] many chances,” said Vladimir Tarasenko, who opened the scoring for the Rangers less than five minutes in. “Igor [Shesterkin] played great. I think that we can play better, especially defensively, to eliminate those chances and make our goalie’s life easier.”

Despite having to fend off three Devils power plays in the opening 20 minutes, the Rangers managed to power ahead 2-0 before the first intermission with an early score from Tarasenko and the first of two power-play goals from Kreider, who is now the leading playoff scorer in Rangers history.

Follow The Post’s coverage of the Rangers vs. Devils NHL playoff series

The Rangers’ penalty kill, which has been a strong point all season, was stellar Tuesday. They forced the Devils to the outside and gave little time or space for anything to be generated, which ultimately prevented the home team from putting a single shot on goal during any of their power plays.

“I think this is an underrated part,” Tarasenko said of the penalty kill. “People talk about goals and plays and saves, but there’s the guys who are blocking shots like crazy. It gives us positive emotions and [we’re] proud of those guys doing their job. Just makes you play harder for those guys.”

In the second period, the Rangers may not have recorded a single shot on goal until nearly nine minutes into the frame, but they were strong on the back end and Shesterkin did the rest to keep the Devils off the scoreboard.

After Alexis Lafreniere’s 3-0 score was overturned due to the referee’s determination that he had deflected the puck with a high stick, there wasn’t much time to dwell on it before Ryan Lindgren flipped one in off a sharp-angled shot that counted at 16:57 of the second.

The Rangers blocked 23 shots and largely shut down one of the most offensively-driven teams in the NHL.

The rebellion is still possible, but the Rangers took a step toward suppressing it.

“Regardless of the score, it’s a win,” Kreider said. “So you’ve got to regroup and try to do it again. I think the hardest game is the one after a win in the playoffs. I’m sure there will be a response from them and some adjustments. We’ll have to raise our level, too.”

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