4,333 days later: Henrique snaps NHL’s longest playoff goal drought
It was only the beginning of what the Edmonton Oilers hope becomes a long drive through the NHL playoffs when they won Game 1 of their Western Conference opening round, 7-4, against the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
But it was also the end of a long road for Oilers forward Adam Henrique.
The trade-deadline acquisition from the Anaheim Ducks, who got himself promoted in the playoffs to the top line alongside Connor McDavid, sent a snapshot from the left dot over the blocker of Kings goalie Cam Talbot midway into the first period to help open the floodgates on a 4-0 lead.
And with it, Henrique ended the longest drought between playoff goals by a player in NHL history at 4,333 days, having last scored in Game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup final while playing with New Jersey. Henrique scored the Devils’ lone goal on June 11 as the Kings won the Cup with a 6-1 victory.
Had he not been traded, Henrique would have had to have watched the tally approach 4,700, since the Ducks didn’t make the playoffs.
“Yeah, it is great,” Henrique said of ending the longest skid of its kind the league has ever seen. "A lot of people have talked about the atmosphere here. Personally, you can feel the buzz running in people outside of the rink and you can feel the connection from the fans to the team and even the players and what it means to a lot of people.
“So, to be out there and experience that first hand was pretty special.”
(Four-thousand, three-hundred and thirty-three days? Jeez, any longer and we’d be approaching Edmonton Elks home-game drought territory ...)