New Jersey Devils' Adam Henrique eliminates Florida Panthers in double OT 3-2 -NHL Playoffs Update
Florida rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to force the overtime extension but New Jersey was determined to take the match as Devils’ Adam Henrique scored the double overtime game-winner, eliminating Panthers, 3-2, in Game 7 of the 2012 National Hockey League
(NHL) Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoff Quarterfinals at the sold-out BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, on Thursday, April 26.
"Got a pretty good bounce," Henrique said. "Found myself alone and tried to get it on net."
The pressure was intense in the building as fans were seeing their first Game 7 contest in over 10 years and while the game headed into overtime than double OT, it kept on mounting until Devils finally made the golden goal.
"They got one lucky tip," Florida’s Tomas Kopecky said. "You know, we weren't in a lane and we were kind of cruising around in our zone and it ended up in our net."
Adam Henrique added the first of the night as well in a penalty filled period in which both teams failed to capitalise on numerous chances while Devils’ Stephen Gionta extended the lead to a dominating 2-0 midway through the second period.
Dominating the opening minutes of the match eventually gave New Jersey the win despite Florida having more shots on the net. Martin Brodeur knew that it might be his last game as the New Jersey Devils goalie and blocked 43 of 45 shots to keep his team alive
while Jose Theodore blocked 33 of 36.
Stephen Weiss added the first for Florida on the power play at 5:02 in the third period, sending the home crowd into a wild roar while Marcel Goc’s equaliser on another added man advantage just made the fans want to break loose.
Unfortunately, Florida Panthers faced the same fate as they did last time they went up against Martin Brodeur and the Devils, but they definitely did put up a good fight for sure.
"This is not where the hockey people predicted us to be at the start of the year," Stephen Weiss said. "We did some good things. We're obviously disappointed not being able to move on. It's been a fun year. It's been a fun playoff in front of our fans."
New Jersey Devils will have some tough competition in the next round as they face a hot Philadelphia Flyers team in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
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