"There are a lot of things I will remember about my career, and scoring the last goal here will definitely be one of them," he said. "I'll have that for the rest of my life."
Sheahan flicked a wrist shot over Devils goaltender Cory Schneider at 7:09 of the first period. He was playing in his 80th game and was on pace to become the first NHL forward to finish a season with more than 100 shots and no goals.
He scored on Frans Nielsen's pass with his 107th shot, getting cheers from the Detroit fans and a celebration from his teammates. The goal came one year after he scored his previous goal against the New York Rangers on April 9, 2016.
"It is kind of a blur," he said. "Frans made a great pass and I just tried to stay patient and get it into the net. It was such a relief to finally get one. I just wish it had come a lot earlier in the season."
Sheahan's teammates also rejoiced.
"I can't remember the last time I've been that happy to see a guy get a goal," veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "Maybe when Nick (Lidstrom) finally got a hat trick. That's the only thing I can think of that is close."
Sheahan finished the scoring at 17:27 of the third period with a power-play goal.
"The puck just took a great bounce across the crease and I was standing in front of an empty net," he said. "I had to put that one in."
Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg was just as pleased at Sheahan's second goal.
"He's gone through so much this year and had so much bad luck, but he's out there helping us every game," Zetterberg said. "We were all so happy to see him get one, and then he gets the last one ever in this building.
"That was perfect."
