NEWARK, N.J. — A year after missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the New Jersey Devils are going back to the Stanley Cup final, thanks to a rookie, a 40-year old goaltender and a coach who’d never been to the postseason in the NHL.
Adam Henrique scored off a scramble in front at 1:03 into overtime and the Devils defeated the rival New York Rangers, 3-2, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first Stanley Cup final since 2003.
The Devils will play the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup in a series that will start on Wednesday in New Jersey.
This series victory came against the Devils’ most intense rival, and it was that much sweeter.
“That one was like Christmas,” said Henrique, who also scored the series winner as Devils’ first-round victory over Florida.
It also was needed. 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.
“It didn’t matter how it got to overtime, we were in a good position,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “We were at home. We just needed one shot.”
Actually, the Devils needed four shots to win the game.
Henrique’s winner came after Henrik Lundqvist stopped Ilya Kovalchuk twice and Alexei Ponikarovsky. The last shot was 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 scored for top seeded New York, which had a good flurry just before New Jersey scored.
Henrique, who is nominated for the Calder Trophy - given to the NHL’s top rookie - 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. New York carried the play after the first period and had a 35-29 edge in shots.
But when it came time for a game-deciding play to be made, it was a Devil who made it.
Henrique overcame injury to score this one. He seemed to take a stick from Brian Boyle in the groin area late in the third and had to leave the ice.
Martin Brodeur, 40, kept the Devils alive in the third. He stopped a power-play shot by Brad Richards, made a save on Artem Anisimov between the circles and used his stick to deflect a pass from the boards by Carl Hagelin in the final minute just before it got to Marian Gaborik on the edge of the crease.
Lundqvist’s best stop in the third was on Dainius Zubrus on a shot from behind the circles.
Facing elimination and down 2-0 after 20 minutes, the Rangers found their game in the second period and tied the game at 2-2 on goals by Fedotenko and Callahan in a roughly four-minute span.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who assisted on both goals, made the big play to get New York back in the game. He collected the puck above the left circle, skated around the net and tried a wrap around. The shot didn’t go on goal but it turned out to be a perfect pass to Fedotenko who put the puck into an open net at 9:47.
Callahan, who had a goal go off his leg on Wednesday, tied the game at 13:41 when Dan Girardi’s shot from the right point deflected off his leg into the open lower corner of the net. Callahan’s sixth of the postseason was set up when Brandon Dubinsky won a face off in the left circle.
At a glance All times Central
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
FRIDAY’S GAME New Jersey 3, NY Rangers 2
New Jersey wins series 4-2
STANLEY CUP FINALS
WEDNESDAY’S GAME Los Angeles at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAME Los Angeles at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME New Jersey at Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME New Jersey at Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 26 on 05/26/2012