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.

Eleven years. That’s how long it has been since the Rangers last saw the Devils in the playoffs.

It was only fitting that the series — which begins Tuesday in Newark — wasn’t made official until the second-to-last day of the NHL’s regular-season schedule. Rangers and Devils fans had waited long enough for this to happen again, what was another few days more?

But that is just how this season unfolded, with several other first-round series up in the air, as well.

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

Carolina fended off the Panthers, 6-4, to clinch the Metropolitan crown, while the Rangers just had to focus on making it to the end of their eventual 3-2 loss to Toronto at the Garden unscathed.

The Rangers were successful in that endeavor, which tees up a highly anticipated Round 1 matchup between two of this season’s most exciting teams.

Battle of the Hudson. A standoff for tristate relevance. The winner will establish superiority.

“We know what we’re capable of,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said after Thursday’s loss. “We know what the goal is. I like our team heading into the playoffs and we’re ready to get this thing rolling.”

This will be the seventh all-time postseason meeting between the two clubs, who have both 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 inexperienced team to watch out for during their push to the conference finals.

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

“We’ve been expecting to play them for a little bit now,” Adam Fox said. “We’ve had some good games against them. They’re a fast, young team. I think we learned last year, it hits you pretty quick at the start. You take your foot off the gas and you’ll be down in a series real quickly.

“They definitely remind us of us a little bit. … Should be a good series.”

The Devils had qualified for the postseason only once in the previous 10 campaigns.

Their last appearance was after the 2017-18 season, when they lost in five games to the Lightning.

But if any team knows how little that all means, it’s the Rangers, who went goal-for-goal with Toronto on Thursday night until Noel Acciari scored with 7:39 left in regulation.

Filip Chytil put the puck in the net with 1.9 seconds left on the clock, but the refs determined that the center had kicked it in.

Understandably, it was a relatively low-energy contest in which both teams appeared to be actively trying not to overexert themselves.

The Maple Leafs have a date with the Lightning for the second straight year after they dropped a riveting, seven-game series to Tampa Bay last season.

Sights are set for the start of the dance. There was nothing to be gained for either team at the Garden on Thursday night. Everything will be on the line starting next week.