Not Dead Yet: Simon Nemec Scores Game-Winner In Double Overtime To Give Devils Life In Round One

It’s been a tough season for the young blueliner, but tonight he played arguably the best game of his NHL career

The New Jersey Devils have aged like wine in this first round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. Game 1 saw them get absolutely bulldozed by a relentless, cohesive Carolina squad in a dispiriting 4-1 loss. Game 2 saw a MUCH better effort from Jersey’s team, but ultimately not enough finishing skill in a hard-fought 3-1 defeat. But tonight, in their first home date of the playoffs, the Devils controlled the game. New Jersey outhustled and outplayed the Hurricanes in game three, and while it took three regulation periods and two more overtime frames, Simon Nemec made sure his team’s effort was not wasted. The young blueliner scored the game-winning goal in double OT to lift the Devils to a 3-2 win and bring New Jersey back to life in this first round series. The Devils now trail this best-of-seven series 2-1.

What an odyssey it has been for Simon Nemec this season. The former second overall pick was injured during the preseason while playing for the Slovakian national team. Upon returning, he floundered at the NHL level and spent much of the season in AHL Utica. While there, he voiced his displeasure that he wasn’t playing in the Show to Slovakian media, sparking a mini-crisis in the Devils organization. Once that blew over, he did return to the NHL level, only to be completely overwhelmed night in and night out. Whether it was his preseason injury hampering him, his lack of knowledge of new head coach Sheldon Keefe’s system, or anything else, Nemec started to show signs of becoming another first round bust for the Devils.

But over his last handful of games in the regular season, I thought Nemec started to really turn things around. Not to where we all wanted it to be, but enough to make me believe that there is still a high-level NHL player in there somewhere. After being a healthy scratch in game 1 of this series, Nemec was pressed into action when injuries struck. Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon both missed their second straight game tonight, and so Nemec’s number was called.

And Simon Nemec rose to the occasion.

Nemec played 22:39 tonight, the least amount of ice time among Devils defensemen apart from one notable exception that we will get to later on. But 22:39 is still a hefty amount, even for a double overtime game. According to Natural Stat Trick, he posted a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% just under 63%, and believe it or not, he actually led the entire team tonight in shots on goal with five. I thought Nemec looked confident with the puck. His breakout passes were crisp, his decision-making was sharp, and in the pressure cooker of a must-win playoff game, Nemec showed why the Devils took him with the second overall pick in the 2022 draft.

Apart from Nemec, this was a decisive win for the Devils. It might not seem like it based on the final score and the double overtime it required to get there, but New Jersey was clearly the better team this evening. The Devils outshot Carolina 37-27 tonight. Per Natural Stat Trick, New Jersey posted a 5-on-5 xGF% of a shade over 64%. Perhaps the team was uplifted by the surprise return of shutdown defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. Playing in his first game since early February, Siegenthaler was a sorely needed addition to the lineup. Head coach Sheldon Keefe talked this morning about how his injury is healed, but his conditioning is not back to where it ideally would be. However, with New Jersey down two defensemen and staring a 3-0 deficit in the face if they lost tonight, Keefe felt compelled the break the emergency glass with Siegenthaler. For the most part, I thought he played quite well in his return, but we’ll dive into his performance in detail a little later on.

The one exception to the Devils’ dominance tonight was special teams, which has emerged as a serious problem in this series. The Devils, one of the elite power play teams in the NHL during the regular season, went 0-for-5 with the man advantage tonight. They didn’t give up a shorthanded goal, so that’s progress I suppose. Meanwhile Carolina scored two power play goals themselves, going 2-for-4 while a man up. Both scores occurred in the third period, with Seth Jarvis’ PPG coming off the rush, and Sebastian Aho’s PPG coming on the kind of lucky, broken play that the Canes specialize in.

It was a shame that the Devils’ penalty kill wilted in the third, because they were playing such a good game up until then. The first period was thoroughly controlled by New Jersey (5-on-5 xGF% of 72% per NST), culminating in Nico Hischier breaking the ice late in the opening frame:

After a scoreless second period, Dawson Mercer doubled the lead on a scramble play that actually saw Mercer shoot the puck out of the back of the net:

It was the type of goal that mixed both hard work and skill that I think most of us want to see out of a player like Mercer.

But of course, Carolina scored twice on the power play to send this game to overtime. And then double overtime. And then the youngest player on the team came up huge to lift his squad to a much-needed 3-2 victory.

The Devils still have a lot of work to do. Two years ago, New Jersey fell behind 2-0 in a playoff series to their bitter rivals, the New York Rangers, only to storm back and win four of the next five to win the series. But they followed that up by falling behind 2-0 once again, this time to this very Carolina team. And unlike the series that came before it, a game three victory could not spark the Devils, as they lost that matchup in five games.

So which series is this one going to be more reminiscent of? The enthralling comeback, or the gentleman’s sweep? Only time will tell, but if New Jersey continues to get better as this series goes on like they have through all three games thus far, we may very well get a redux of the 2023 first round.

They still have a long way to go. But for at least one night, Simon Nemec and the Devils can hold their heads high. They have willed themselves back into the series.

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of the NHL’s website

Make It Stop

Ok, so we very briefly mentioned a notable exception on the Devils’ blueline that Nemec played more than tonight. That would be Johnny Kovacevic, who was apparently injured in the first period this evening and did not return after that.

If you were hoping for some answers after the game, I’m sorry to disappoint you:

So to recap:

The Devils’ top defenseman, Dougie Hamilton, only just returned for the regular season finale after missing over a month due to injury. He is clearly not at 100%.

Jonas Siegenthaler just returned from a months-long absence. He is clearly not at 100%.

Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon each missed their second straight game. And if they do return this series, they clearly won’t be at 100%.

Keefe mentioned recently that Brett Pesce is “less than 100%”…so, uh, he is clearly not at 100%.

And now add Kovacevic to the never-ending avalanche of injuries. And that’s just the defensemen.

Given the hilarious number of injuries the Devils have suffered, I don’t think anyone would’ve been shocked if they just rolled over and died in this series. Instead, after a clunker in game one, the Devils battled the Hurricanes to basically a standstill in game two, and thoroughly controlled play in game three. They still have a long way to go to win this series, but the heart they have shown in the face of such adversity has been remarkable.

We can only only Kovacevic doesn’t have to miss any time himself.

He’s Back

As mentioned, Jonas Siegenthaler made his triumphant return this evening. It was a long and arduous road back for Siegenthaler, who has suffered a ton of lower-body injuries over the past few seasons. But with the Devils’ blueline looking like a hospital ward these days, Siegenthaler’s return is much-needed, even if he’s not at the height of his powers right now.

So how did he do in his first taste of game action since before the Four Nations Faceoff? Well even though Keefe wanted to limit his minutes as he builds his conditioning back up, Kovacevic’s first period injury plus the double overtime nature of the game forced Siegenthaler to soak up a whopping 27:09 of ice time. He blocked three shots, registered five hits, and according to Natural Stat Trick, Siegenthaler posted a 5-on-5 xGF% of 55.26%. That figure is especially impressive considering Keefe matched Siegenthaler up against Carolina’s top line of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Jackson Blake this evening. Those were the three forwards Siegenthaler played the most against, and he held them without a point in those minutes.

Overall, it was a gutty performance from Siegenthaler. And considering the circumstances, it was a very impressive performance as well.

Leader Of The Pack

We’ve discussed Simon Nemec, Johnny Kovacevic, and Jonas Siegenthaler already. Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton deserve their flowers as well, as they were second and third respectively in ice time tonight and they played well in their extensive minutes.

But you know who actually led the Devils in time on ice this evening? That would be trade deadline acquisition Brian Dumoulin.

Dumoulin played a staggering 36:29 tonight, over four minutes more than second-place Pesce. New Jersey won those 36-and-a-half minutes pretty decisively, as Dumoulin posted a 5-on-5 xGF% just over 60% according to NST. And for good measure, he produced two shots on goal, five blocked shots, and four hits.

Dumoulin was the unexpected leader for the Devils tonight, he answered the call when the team needed him most. Honestly I hope that Dumoulin doesn’t end up as the team leader in ice time in game four, but if he does, at least he’s proven he can handle it.

Oh, Timo

Oh, Timo.

Yes I will credit Freddie Andersen for making a strong save. But this was not nearly as impressive as it looked, as Meier essentially shot the puck directly into Andersen’s glove.

This has been a recurring theme for Meier during his time in New Jersey: He generates a ton of offensive chances, but can’t seem to actually score goals at the rate he should based on the chances he creates. Tonight was another example of that.

At the end of the day, he really, really, REALLY needs to start scoring goals. Creating scoring chances is great, and I won’t go as far as to say Meier has played poorly. But he can’t keep blowing chances like these.

Oh, Timo.

Remember When?

It has been a long, long time since the Devils played a postseason game that stretched beyond a single overtime period. Do you know when the last time New Jersey participated in a playoff game of two or more overtimes was?

Well that would be almost exactly 13 years ago to the day (though it actually IS 13 years ago to the day at the time of this publication).

On April 26th, 2012, Adam Henrique flung a shot toward the Florida Panthers’ net that snuck it’s way past Jose Theodore, propelling the Devils to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs:

As you might remember, that would somehow not be the biggest goal Henrique would score during that postseason.

Raucous Rock

I was in the building tonight, hence the late publish time of this article. I was not able to make it to any of the playoff games in 2023, but I have been to a handful of Devils playoff games in my life. The most recent one before tonight was game three against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018, the lone win of that series.

Before that? Game one of the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. This overtime game thankfully ended on a better note than that one.

The Rock was electric tonight. It was the loudest I have heard the building in a long time, as the fans really gave everything they had to support our team. I thought the atmosphere was symbolic of the team on the ice: Knocked down, but not knocked out, showing tremendous heart and grit and spirit, and eventually coming away winners. Both the players and the fans willed New Jersey back into the series this evening. For everyone who was in attendance tonight, take a bow. You helped make The Rock an intimidating place to play hockey this evening. Let’s keep it going for game four.

Next Time Out

The Devils look to even this first round series in game four on Sunday. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30pm.

Your Take

What did you make of tonight’s game? How impressed were you with Simon Nemec? What about the rest of the blueline as a whole considering the injury situations? What do you expect in game four? As always, thanks for reading!