"A lot of great memories. I look back on a lot of fun we had as a team and as a group," Henrique recalled. "The goal capping the whole thing off, certainly for me one of my greatest hockey memories and accomplishments, too.
"There are so many things that come up from that game. My parents were in town for it, which was special for me. My dad was banging on the glass in the corner. Great memories to look back on, special moments that I'm proud of in my career."
Although the goal happened over a decade ago, its importance seems to grow more with every passing year. And Henrique is constantly reminded of the greatest goal of his career.
"That picture is the one I end up autographing the most," he said. "Any time I see it, I think about it and the great memories and what it meant to the group and where it put us. Some special memories from that team, that series and that entire run really."
Although the winner against the Rangers stands above the rest, it wasn't the only elimination goal Henrique scored in that postseason run. He also eliminated the Florida Panthers with a double-overtime winner.
"That's part of that whole run, coming back against Florida," he said. "(Travis Zajac) scoring in overtime the game before, us pushing it to double overtime. The things you dream about."
Henrique was drafted by the Devils in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut with one game in the 2010-11 season, but became a full-time NHLer the following year. During his rookie campaign, Henrique even centered Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, a daunting task for a 21-year-old.
The Ontario native played his first six-plus seasons in the NHL with the Devils before being traded to Anaheim, his home for the past five-plus years. Less than three weeks after the trade, Henrique made an emotional return to Prudential Center. And in dramatic fashion, Henrique flipped the puck over defenseman Sami Vatanen - who was traded from Anaheim in the Henrique deal - spun away and scored.
"Going back right away to play against them was certainly odd for me," he said. "An emotional game to get into and go back there because there were so many great memories. To be able to score a goal like that maybe helped me move forward. It was just part of the story of the trade, I guess. I've run into a lot of the people in the front office. I don't hold anything against anyone there. You understand that side of the business as you're in the league longer."
In fact, any time the Ducks are in Newark to play against the Devils, Henrique makes sure he stops by the team's offices to see some of the staff.
"Meeting so many great people and some great relationships I still have with fans and friends, people with the organization that I still touch base," he said. "To me, that's the most important thing that came out of the whole tenure with the Devils. It was special to me. I loved playing there. I loved playing with everybody that came through there, players, staff, everybody. They were always great to me. They showed me a lot of respect my entire time there. No bad memories.
"I loved every second I was in New Jersey."
