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10 worst Rangers playoffs moments of the past decade, part 2

By Jake Mozarsky

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 13: Alec Martinez #27 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime against goaltender Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers to give the Kings the 3-2 victory during Game Five of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center on June 13, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 13: Alec Martinez #27 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime against goaltender Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers to give the Kings the 3-2 victory during Game Five of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center on June 13, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Adam Henrique #14 of the New Jersey Devils celerbates after scoring the game winning goal in overtime  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

2. 2012 Conference Finals, Game 6: Adam Henrique’s overtime goal

Here it is. One of the most famous calls in hockey by Doc Emrick. But, before we get to that, here’s a game summary.

Game Five in this series, the spoiled comeback, was number five on this list. The Rangers now had to go into “The Rock” and win Game Six in order to force a seventh game at the Garden. The top seed would have been a Game Seven favorite, but they had to get through this game first.

The game started off evenly, with both teams having chances in front of a loud Devils crowd that was trolling Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils had the upper hand and Ryan Carter led off the scoring. A few minutes later, Ilya Kovalchuk put one in to make the game 2-0 at the end of the first period.

The 2nd period was all Rangers. It was clear that they were playing for their lives, and this was the closest they had been to the Cup since 1997. With 10 minutes left, Ruslan Fedotenko cut the lead in half, and four minutes later, Ryan Callahan deflected Dan Girardi’s shot in. That’s how the second period ended

The third period also belonged to the Rangers. They dominated this period, and you knew they had a chip on their shoulder. They knew they should not have been in this position, and they knew that they would not be if not for a horrible 10 minutes in Game Five. But, Martin Brodeur stood on his head. The game went to overtime.

Being at this game as a Ranger fan (I was 10 at the time), I could feel the tension building up. Despite being a playoff road game, there were so many Ranger fans in the building and we were getting riled up. We knew that something was coming and when the puck dropped to start the ovettime, it felt like a Game Seven.

Then, it happened.

“Carefully played away by Lundqvist, now Ponikarovsky with it. Threw one in front blocked there! Scramble for it there, they poke away at it! Still its lose! Poked at by Kovalchuk! THEY SCORE! HENRIQUE! IT’S OVER!”

This call haunts all Rangers fans to this day. For all the promise that was there, Adam Henrique put away a crazy scramble 1:02 into the overtime period to give the Devils their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 2003.

Ranger fans had to wait two more years for their chance. Then an even bigger heartbreaker ensued.

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