Lindy Ruff, as a personal rule, loathes talking about his goaltenders — particularly about which one might be between the pipes on a given night.

So, when the question about whether he was considering a goaltender change for Monday night’s Game 7 against the Rangers after the 5-2 loss to them in Game 6, the Devils coach broke into a big smile.

Rookie Akira Schmid had taken over for starter Vitek Vanecek after the Devils lost the first two games, and he won three consecutive games while stopping 80 of 82 shots along the way.

But in Saturday’s Game 6, Schmid, with more Rangers traffic in front of his goal crease, didn’t look as sharp and was pulled in the third period after yielding a fifth goal.

That, of course, opened speculation about whether Ruff might go back to Vanecek.

“I’m going to tell you this,’’ Ruff said Sunday, conducting a faux build-up. “The decision is made. … I’m just not telling you.’’

Asked if his decision was an “easy’’ one, Ruff said, “I’m not talking about the goalie, as I usually don’t talk about the goalie.’’

Ruff defended Schmid, saying, “I think his performance was fine. We could have been better in front of him on a couple of plays.’’

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He referenced the Rangers’ first goal, a power-play deflection of a Mika Zibanejad shot off Chris Kreider’s body to Schmid’s left.

“When you look at that [first goal], it’s a puck that’s going five feet wide and it’s Kreider magic,’’ Ruff said of Kreider’s uncanny ability to deflect pucks into goals. “Whatever hits him seems to find the back of the net. The last goal went off another stick and redirected.”

Asked if he sensed Schmid’s confidence shaken, Ruff said, “That kid, you can never tell if his confidence is shaken. He’s got a great demeanor, and it doesn’t really change.’’

Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, was asked after the game what it may do for his team’s confidence to chase Schmid after he had their number for the previous three games.

“I just want the goals,’’ Gallant said. “I don’t care if it chases Schmid or whoever. Obviously, the kid played great in the other games, and I’m not saying he didn’t play well [Saturday], but he didn’t have much of a chance on some of our goals. He was screened and we put it up over his glove. He made some good saves. We had better opportunities.’’