There are some days that certain people will never forget. One of those days for most New Jersey Devils fans came during game six of the East Final.
Everybody remembers May 25th, 2012 in New Jersey Devils land. The Eastern Conference Finals against their bitter rivals, The New York Rangers. The Devils hosting the top team in the Eastern Conference with one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.
The game started off great for Jersey’s team, as goals from Ryan Carter and Ilya Kovalchuk put the Devils up 2-0. Martin Brodeur was making some spectacular saves at 40 years old and the Devils appeared to be on their way, but then things became less certain after the Rangers came back to tie the game. Henrik Lundqvist shut the door the rest of the way.
Game Six at The Rock goes to overtime, but it didn’t last long there. Just one minute into the extra frame, Ilya Kovalchuk threw a harmless shot on Lundqvist where Alexei Ponikarovsky took it and threw it back on the net where Kovalchuk scrambled to get it through Lundqvist. That’s where rookie Adam Henrique found it and put it into the back of the net.
It became a moment that Devils fans will remember forever. The call from former Devils announcer and current NBC lead play by play man Doc Emrick yelling “They score! Henrique! It’s over!” made it that much sweeter.
It is a moment in Devils history that will live on forever. It is one of the best moments in team history for a variety of reasons. One, because it was the goal that put the Devils in the Finals, and two because it was against the arch rival Rangers.
It was just a sweet moment that everyone should remember fondly no matter how many years go by. This was also the last time that the Devils were competitive with Martin Brodeur at the helm and guys like Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, and Patrik Elias in their core. No matter what you think of some of those guys now, there is no denying that they were elite and helped the Devils win games while they were here.
The Devils went on to lose in the Stanley Cup Final to the Los Angeles Kings in six games, but it didn’t come without some great memories led by this Henrique goal. It is also thought of as the last time this Devils team was really good, and reminds us of what could be again. It shows the Devils have been on that stage in the not so distant past and how the fan base is when the team is that good.
It paints a picture of what it might feel like if Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes ever scored a goal like that. It is a long way off for now, but it doesn’t hurt to reminisce on the good times every now and then. Henrique from Kovalchuk and Ponikarovsky at 1:03 of the overtime period. What a moment.