Associated Press
Adam Henrique scored off a wild scramble in front at 1:03 into overtime and the Devils defeated the Rangers, 3-2, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final Friday night at Newark's Prudential Center to advance to their first Stanley Cup finals since 2003.
The Devils will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Cup in a series that will start on Wednesday in New Jersey.
The Devils' blew a 2-0 first-period lead and didn't want to head back to New York for a Game 7 on Sunday.
Henrique's winner came after Henrik Lundqvist stopped Ilya Kovalchuk twice and Alexei Ponikarovsky. The last shot lay in the crease and Henrique tapped it home.
Ryan Carter and Kovalchuk also scored for the Devils, whose biggest move this year was hiring Peter DeBoer as coach. He was fired by Florida after missing the playoffs in his three seasons. In his first postseason, he is hoping to lead New Jersey to its fourth Cup.
Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Callahan tallied for the top-seeded Rangers, who had a good flurry just before New Jersey scored.
Henrique skated away from the crease and jumped against the end boards in the corner as his teammates hopped off the bench and mobbed him.
The six Rangers on the ice just stayed down in disbelief and frustration. This was very much like Game 5, which the Devils won 5-3. The Rangers carried the play after the first period and had a 35-29 edge in shots.
"When they scored, it was such an empty feeling," said Lundqvist, who said the puck took a weird bounce on the final play. "It is shocking."
• COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY
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STATS OF THE GAME
Game 6 vs. New Jersey was the 20th for the Rangers in the postseason, establishing a new franchise record for most playoff games played without reaching the Stanley Cup Final. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Blueshirts are one of five teams to have skated in 20 postseason games without advancing to the Final, while two teams have played in 21 playoff games without advancing to the Final -– the 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2002 Colorado Avalanche. |
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| (selected by newyorkrangers.com) |
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| 1. Callahan |
2. McDonagh |
3. Lundqvist |
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[51-24-7]
[48-28-6]