NHL

Karma for Kovy

Ilya Kovalchuk had a decision to make two years ago when he was a free agent. The two teams he was torn between were the Kings and the Devils. Now those two teams will face one another in the Stanley Cup Finals, and Kovalchuk will see if he made the right decision.

“It’s actually a little weird that the two teams I was to choose from are going to face [each other] in the finals, but I am pretty sure I made the right decision, and I can’t wait to play those games,” he said, donning his Eastern Conference Champion hat and T-shirt after scoring a goal in the Devils’ 3-2 overtime victory that ousted the Rangers last night at Prudential Center.

The Devils acquired Kovalchuk in February 2010 in a trade with the Thrashers. When the season ended, he became a free agent, spurned the Kings for the Devils, and signed a 15-year $100 million dollar deal in New Jersey. One reason he chose to stay with the Devils was because he liked their chances to win a Stanley Cup. Now he will get that chance against the Kings, in the finals starting Wednesday at the Prudential Center.

“We are going to face a good team. They have surprised a lot of people but they deserve to be there as well,” Kovalchuk said, referring to the Kings winning 12 of 14 playoff games, dismantling the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds on their road to the finals.

Kovalchuk scored his seventh goal of the playoffs with the Devils on a power play in the first period, taking a cross-ice pass from Dainius Zubrus, one-timing it past Henrik Lundqvist. That made it 2-0 Devils. But his biggest point on the night was assisting on Adam Henrique’s game- winner in overtime.

“The puck was laying right there, I got a couple shots on net and then I just poked it, and Henrique got the final rebound. We never gave up on that play and scored the goal,” said Kovalchuk, who leads all NHL scorers with 18 points in the playoffs.

Kovalchuk, who had never won a playoff round before this year, has now won three in the past month and hopes in two weeks, he will have won his fourth, because that would mean the Devils would have won the Stanley Cup. He only made the playoffs one time in seven years with the Thrashers.

“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s a great feeling and we feel good. Last year was tough but this year was totally different. We played well all year long and we played good in the playoffs.

“We haven’t done what we wanted to yet, but obviously we are in the right direction. It’s a big event. I think it’s the biggest event I have ever been in my NHL career. I’m just going to enjoy it and play as hard as I can.”

david.satriano@nypost.com