NHL

Rangers coach accuses Devils of flopping; Prust banned for Game 4

THAT’LL HURT: Brandon Prust may have knocked Anton Volchenkov silly, but it is Prust who will miss tonight’s game.

THAT’LL HURT: Brandon Prust may have knocked Anton Volchenkov silly, but it is Prust who will miss tonight’s game. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)

Now it’s boiling, as matters turn crucial. A one-game suspension for Brandon Prust, chirping and sniping from coaches and players, one team belittling the other as divers — the gloves are coming off in this Battle of the Hudson.

Rangers coach John Tortorella’s admitted “gamesmanship,” ridiculed as “comical” by Devils coach Pete DeBoer, nearly overshadows the vital consequences for the teams in Game 4 tonight in Newark.

In anticipation of Prust’s ban for elbowing Anton Volchenkov’s head in Game 3, Tortorella complained that Devils winger Dainius Zubrus did the same to defenseman Anton Stralman.

Tortorella also squawked the Devils work a pick to free Ilya Kovalchuk on the power play, resulting in his Game 2 power-play score, one of just three goals the Devils have scored in three games.

“There’s some gamesmanship right there, huh?” Tortorella asked rhetorically.

Instead of re-Torts, the Devils need an answer to Henrik Lundqvist, who has blanked them twice in this series, making the difference in the Rangers’ 2-1 lead.

Tonight in Newark, the Rangers can move to the brink of their first Stanley Cup finals since 1994. The Devils will be desperate to square the series, which returns to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

The Rangers have yet to own a two-game lead in these playoffs, and the Devils haven’t been down two.

“We have to realize where we’re at and the opportunity we have,” the Rangers’ Brad Richards said. “We’ve gotten away with kind of that roller-coaster ride we’ve been on.

“Hopefully, the third time, we realize. I don’t know if we’ll win, but at least come out with a really good effort, give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Only 24 of 254 teams (9.4 percent) have survived a 3-1 series deficit. The Devils did it in 2000 against the Flyers, but have lost eight other times. The Rangers blew a 3-1 lead to the 2009 Capitals, but the Devils can’t depend on a repeat.

“They let us back in the series after Game 1, and I’m sure they’re going to try not to let us back in the series again,” Devils goalie Martin Brodeur told The Post. “It’s hard to talk about. If I didn’t see a good attitude in here, I might say something. This morning, nobody looked down. We’ll be OK. It’s trust, and it’s been there all along.”

Anyone seeking signs of quit among the Devils must look elsewhere than Brodeur, despite dueling Lundqvist.

“We know we have something good going and we want to continue it,” Brodeur said. “This is fun. We’re having a blast playing these games.”

Before the Prust decision, Tortorella did some lobbying for the Rangers winger with the press.

“Pruster’s played probably about 300-plus games without any hearings or anything going on,” Tortorella said. “He’s probably one of the most honest players [in the NHL].

“Maybe if our players stay down on the ice, we’ll get some [calls]. We tell our players don’t stay down on the ice. ‘Get up.’ ”

Tortorella then listed his complaints.

“I look at Dainius Zubrus with an elbow to Stralman. I look at [Zach] Parise, launching himself at [Michael] Del Zotto,” Tortorella said. “The picking on the power play, set plays, picking on the power plays.

“If we want to start discussing officials with the media, I have a long list here. That’s a set play by New Jersey, picking so we can’t get to Kovalchuk to block a shot.”

Parise denied the charges.

“I don’t think we’ve done that,” Parise responded. “Maybe he’s saying that to try to make the refs aware of it. It’s nothing we diagram. I don’t think we do it.”

“We stay down too long when we get hit? It doesn’t feel that good to get hit in the head with elbows and stuff,” said Patrik Elias, expected to play left wing tonight with Adam Henrique and Kovalchuk. “We don’t have that history here as a team.”

Brodeur dismissed Tortorella’s talk as self-serving.

“He has to preach for his own church,” Brodeur said. “We do certain things that give us a chance to be successful. Some people do things that are not great, like Prust did. They called a penalty on [Alexei] Ponikarovsky in Game 2 that wasn’t even there.

“Don’t tell me the refs aren’t looking for [picks].”

DeBoer said on March 19 that Tortorella was either a “hypocrite” or lacked memory for starting tough guys for game-opening fights.

“Comical,” was DeBoer’s one-word response yesterday.

There will be little laughing tonight. This series has become a grim test of resolve. That, and some spectacular goaltending.

“If it wasn’t for [Lundqvist], this series might have a different look right now,” Zubrus said. “He’s their best player. Two shutouts in three games. We’ll try to do the same and hope it doesn’t happen again.”

mark.everson@nypost.com