DETROIT -- At the end of the day, Riley Sheahan was destined to be the answer to a trivia question that would be repeated for years to come.

He liked that answer much better than the one that destiny initially appeared to have in store for him.

Sheahan scored twice, including the final goal ever at Joe Louis Arena, as the Detroit Red Wings closed out their home rink since 1979 in fine style, downing the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Sunday in the farewell game played there.

Detroit will move into the new Little Caesars Arena for the 2017-18 NHL season.

Captain Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Tatar also scored for the Red Wings, while John Moore replied for the Devils.

Sheahan's second goal of the night on a Detroit power play with 2:33 left in the third period closed the books on scoring at the Joe.

"It's pretty cool," Sheahan said. "There's a lot of things I'll remember in my career, and it's definitely one of them."

That Sheahan scored at all was big news. Entering the game, he was scoreless through the 79 games he played this season, and he was one goalless game away from becoming the first forward in NHL history to register 100 shots on goal and not score a goal.

The first-period tally that opened the scoring came on Sheahan's 107th shot of the season.

Sheahan's grin practically illuminated the rink as he was mobbed by his teammates.

"When he got his first one, I almost jumped out of my skates I was so happy for him," said Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, who made 24 saves to record the final victory in the arena. "He had a smile from ear to ear.

"I could see it all the way to my net from the bench. It was really exciting."

Zetterberg, playing his 1,000th NHL game, also added an assist and felt the night had a storybook quality to it.

"When you picture the last game at the Joe -- except if it would have been Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final -- this was very nice," Zetterberg said.

Dozens of former Red Wings players took part in the postgame closing ceremonies. Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, Detroit's captain from 1986-2006, described Joe Louis Arena as being "beautiful in its simplicity.

"I played my whole career here and I didn't experience anything like this," Yzerman said. "It was pretty cool."

Scotty Bowman, who coached the Red Wings to three Stanley Cup titles, echoed Yzerman's sentiments.

"I went to the one (in) Montreal in 1996 when they closed the (Montreal) Forum," Bowman said. "The fans here, I don't know what it is, but they're so much more noisy.

"It was a good ending to the Joe with the win."

Even the vanquished Devils couldn't help but get caught up in the emotion of the day.

"We pulled up a couple of hours before the game and it was jammed outside," said New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider, who made 31 saves in the loss. "It was a very festive atmosphere. It was fun.

"It felt like a playoff game, and I think that's a good feeling for the guys in this room to experience, because we haven't had a lot of that recently."

The Red Wings (33-36-13) and Devils (28-40-14) both missed the playoffs -- Detroit for the first time since 1989-90 and New Jersey for the fifth successive season.

"I thought the way the whole season has gone, not making the playoffs, now we can move on," Zetterberg said. "They did a really good job with this weekend. I think this building deserved it.

"It was fun to bring back all the players that have been here, and the coaches. It was a perfect ending on an otherwise not too good season."

NOTES: The Wings finished the season 17-17-7 on home ice, avoiding their first losing season at Joe Louis Arena since going 10-26-4 in 1985-86. ... Former Wings captain and current Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman was the ceremonial puck dropper. ... Former Red Wings players, including Hall of Famers Larry Murphy and Dino Ciccarelli, donned their skates and helped clean the ice during television timeouts. ... Detroit scratches were Fs Andreas Athanasiou (ribs), Anthony Mantha (broken finger) and Luke Glendening (broken ankle). ... Devils scratches were Fs Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body injury) and Blake Coleman and D Damon Severson. ... John Moore's 12 goals were the most in a season by a Devils D since former Red Wings player Marek Zidlicky also scored 12 for New Jersey in 2013-14. .... The Devils finished 13-20-2 all time at Joe Louis Arena.