Keys to the series: Inside the Rangers plan to bedevil the Devils.

Adam Fox and I still think about that goal from time to time. It was sixty-three seconds into overtime of game six of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals when Adam Henrique scored to lift the New Jersey Devils into the Stanley Cup Finals, eliminating the top-seeded New York Rangers.

“I was at a buddy’s house. I saw a clip of that the other day; it was devastating. I don’t like that series. I don’t like to think about it as a Ranger fan”, Fox told The Hockey News.

“Henrique! It’s over!” marked the first time I was devastated as a Rangers fan. Seven-year-old me didn’t watch the goal live but was crushed upon finding out the next morning.

Now 3,980 days later, Fox and the Rangers will have an opportunity to exact revenge as they begin their quest for the cup in that same Prudential Center in New Jersey on Tuesday night.

“It’s a rivalry,” Mika Zibanejad said of the upcoming Hudson River clash, “They’re right across the river. It’s a tough opponent, and they’ve had a really good regular season. It’s been tight games against them this season. It’s going to be a lot of fun”. Throughout the regular season, the Rangers have attempted to prove they’re better than last year’s team, who reached the Eastern Conference finals. The additions of Vincent Trocheck, Patrick Kane, and Vladimir Tarasenko have fans confident this team will bring the Stanley Cup to Broadway for the first time since 1994.

However, they must first overcome their chief rivals, who have gone from picking third in the draft to finishing third in the NHL’s overall standings in less than ten months. The series beginning in the Garden State is no accident, and it goes beyond the Devils taking seven of a possible eight points from the Rangers in their regular season meetings. Here’s a deep dive into what’s made New Jersey great and how New York can be the team to stop them.