The comeback from 2-0 and 3-1 down put a damper on what had been a dramatic return to New Jersey for Henrique, who had a goal and an assist in his first game against the Devils since he was traded on Nov. 30.
Henrique gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead at 11:21 of the second with a stunning individual effort. As he approached the attacking blue line, he lofted the puck over defenseman Sami Vatanen, the player for whom he was traded, and then claimed it before Vatanen could recover. Henrique drove the net and put his backhand shot under the crossbar.
"I knew they were tired on [my goal] there and I just tried to get to an area where I could skate into it and just caught the [defenseman] creeping a bit," said Henrique, who has four goals and four assists in nine games with Anaheim.
"That was a nasty play, I have to say," Vatanen said. "I have to tip my hat for him. It's something I've never seen. It was fast and he made a nice goal."
The Devils played a video tribute to Henrique, who played eight seasons and 455 games for them, during the first television timeout in the first period.
"Nervous, anxious, excited; a little bit of everything came into it tonight," Henrique said. "It was probably one of the longest games I have played, personally.
"It was certainly nice to have a great ovation from the fans and the players, too, obviously. It was a special night from that side of things [and] certainly an experience I will always remember."
