2012 1st Round Game 7 vs. Florida Panthers: Adam Henrique scores
These two teams had just played an overtime game with the Devils coming out on top to stay alive. This led to a Game 7 for the ages. Martin Brodeur, at 40 years old, and Jose Theodore, at 35 years old, were trying to carry their teams to the next round by themselves. Brodeur stopped 43 shots to give his team a chance to get here.
The Devils made it to double OT while holding on to their playoff lives. That’s when Adam Henrique began his legacy. He just threw the puck towards the net from in between the circles, and miraculously it went in. Theodore never really saw it as it through his five hole.
Henrique would make even more history later, but this was an insane goal in its own right. Henrique batted the puck out of the air, through a defenders legs, to himself and turned around for an immediate shot. The amount of focus it takes for a rookie to do that in the biggest moment takes ice in his veins.
The Devils ended up going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, beating their two biggest rivals along the way. However, if it wasn’t for Brodeur and Henrique, it ends with yet another first-round exit.