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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

New Jersey Devils advance to Stanley Cup finals - San Francisco Chronicle

Adam Henrique of the Devils celebrates after scoring the series-ending goal.

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 Finals, thanks to a rookie, a 40-year-old goaltender and a coach who'd never been to the postseason in the NHL.

How's that for a turnaround?

Adam Henrique scored off a wild scramble in front 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 Finals since 2003.

The Devils will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Cup in a series that will start Wednesday here.

This series win 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 in the Devils' first-round win 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 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 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 jumped off the bench and mobbed him.

The Devils - as is the tradition for many Cup finalists - did not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy that was presented at center ice.

As the team skated off to their locker room, "Glory Days," the 1984 hit from New Jersey rocker Bruce Springsteen serenaded them.

This article appeared on page B - 9 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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