Adam Henrique has been the Devils go to guy for these “lean years” over the past few seasons. Even though, he wasn’t with the glory days Devils, he still has been a major part of the roster for New Jersey.
And last night, the forward was able to pass a major milestone by passing the 100th goal mark for his career.
“One-hundred goals, it’s great if you would of told me that years ago, who knows if I would of believed you or not,” he said. “It was nice to get that one, I forgot about it to be honest but it is nice to put in the bank, put on the wall.”
The 82nd overall pick in 2008, who scored his first goal on November 3, 2011, needed that one last night, as the Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lighting, 3-1.
Damon Severson assisted on Henrique’s goal and also scored his first of the season off of a rebound half way into the first period giving the Devils a 2-0 lead for the first.
“It’s been awesome,” Severson said. “I guess last year was rough goal-wise. But hopefully tonight was the first of many. I’m just trying to chip in when I can, hopefully keep it going.”
That was all Cory Schneider needed, allowing only a Tyler Johnson goal in the third and had 32 saves on the night.
“In years past, don’t know if we win this game or not,” Schneider said. “So it shows signs of some growth and some new faces and young guys in the lineup who will go through struggles, but they seem ahead of the curve here and learning quickly and that’s great for our team.”
Devante Smith-Pelly chipped in the Devils other goal.
“Two different stories,” Henrique said. “We found a way to finish it off today. Playing with the lead, we kept attacking throughout.”
The Devils will take on the Florida Panthers Thursday night at BB&T Center in Sunrise.