Simon Nemec went from a lingering Devils liability to their sudden savior in a span of one night.
Tasked with representing one of just five defensemen for New Jersey in a must-win game, the former second overall pick silenced the questions about his repeated benchings and the constant inclusion of his name in trade proposals by beating the seemingly impenetrable Frederick Andersen to give the Devils a 3-2 win in double overtime.
With Nemec’s heroics, a season teetering on the brink was given new life, just as it appeared the painfully shorthanded Devils had nothing left to give.
“It was f----g amazing,” the 21-year-old said with a laugh.
Already down Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, New Jersey lost yet another defenseman in Jonathan Kovacevic after suffering an injury in the first period. Dougie Hamilton, in just his fourth game back from an extended injury absence, was still getting his midseason legs back and logging over 31 minutes of ice time. Jonas Siegenthaler, playing in his first game since Feb.
4, was even further behind in terms of conditioning, and forced to play over 27 minutes after head coach Sheldon Keefe said he would ease his veteran back into the swing of things.
Suddenly, the polarizing Nemec became pivotal to the Devils’ survival, and he delivered with his signature moment for the franchise, a franchise that many wondered was destined to become his former home, and Nemec doomed to be a failed draft story.
Instead, at least for now, Nemec offered a glimpse of everything the Devils hoped he would be when they used a lottery pick on him in 2022. After playing one of the best games of his young, up-and-down career, Nemec finessed his way through the Hurricanes defense and flicked a shot on the blocker side just past Andersen, who got a piece of the shot before watching it trickle just past the goal line to set off an epic celebration at the Prudential Center, which just witnessed the longest game in its history.
For Nemec, his game winner in double OT made him the youngest Devil ever to score a playoff overtime goal, passing Adam Henrique’s unforgettable series clincher against the Rangers in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final.
Hours before Nemec rescued the Devils in their fight to save the season and avoid a 3-0 series hole, New Jersey looked poised to cruise to victory. The Devils were the clear aggressors to start game three, peppering Andersen while not allowing a shot on goal until the midway point of the first period. After a load of quality chances, New Jersey finally broke through courtesy of their captain Nico Hischier, who grabbed a beauty of a sauce pass from Timo Meier after leaking behind the defense to beat Andersen for a 1-0 lead. Dawson Mercer made it 2-0 early in the third after a nifty move from Jesper Bratt resulted in a sparkling pad save by Andersen, who couldn’t recover before Mercer pushed the puck into the open net.
But the shorthanded Devils blue line began to show its tiring legs, as Siegenthaler took an interference penalty that led to a Canes goal, and after a 2:13 shift, with nearly every second of it while under duress, Brett Pesce flipped a clear attempt out of play for a delay of game, leading to the equalizer for Carolina.
Both overtime periods saw plenty of golden chances for the Devils to end it and give their weakening legs a much-needed rest of the night off, but Andersen was up to the task as he has been all series. Until Nemec, who delivered his signature moment in the nick of time, when it felt like the longer the game went, the more exposed the shorthanded Devils would be.
“Just proud of the group,” defenseman Brian Domoulin said after leading all skaters with 36:29 ice time. “We gave up two there in the third, but we didn’t quit or give in. it could have been easy for us to give in in this game, but we just kept coming. Obviously, this gives us a lot of life.”
New Jersey won’t have much time to regenerate those tired legs, as game four and a chance to pull even in the series awaits on Sunday afternoon.