With Game 3 win, Devils show resolve that could benefit them long beyond the playoffs

New York Times

26-04-2025

NEWARK, N.J. — Friday night's double-overtime victory doesn't mean the New Jersey Devils will win this series. It doesn't even mean they'll reach Game 6. They are still the heavy underdogs and trailing 2-1 against a Carolina Hurricanes team that is healthier and has more recent playoff success. Not many people would bat an eye if Carolina won the next two games and sent the Devils home for the summer.
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But that doesn't change the importance of New Jersey's Game 3 win. It's the type of game that will stick with players on the roster, from overtime hero Simon Nemec — a healthy scratch earlier this series — to Jonas Siegenthaler, who played his first game since February, to young players like Paul Cotter and Cody Glass, who took their first-ever playoff overtime shifts.
It's the type of win that builds the foundation of a team, one that could pay dividends years down the road.
'You grow a lot in times like this,' coach Sheldon Keefe said after the 3-2 win. 'No question, I learned a lot about the character of our group.'
Nemo put this game to bed but no one's going to sleep tonight. pic.twitter.com/pFbcrwEdhI
— x – New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 26, 2025
The Devils were already short-handed entering Game 3. Jack Hughes won't play the rest of the season after shoulder surgery. Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes have been out since injuries in Game 1.
To add injury to insult on top of the injuries, Johnathan Kovacevic did not play after sustaining an undisclosed injury in the first period. That left only five healthy defensemen, two of whom aren't physically at their best. Brett Pesce is playing at 'way less than 100 percent,' Keefe said. Siegenthaler, coming off a lower-body injury, is still getting his conditioning back after being unable to skate for months. After the game, he conceded he was gassed.
'It wasn't easy at the start,' said the Swiss defenseman, who played 27:09 despite Keefe saying before the game that he wanted to limit his minutes. 'I tried to find my legs as quick as possible. I thought after the first period, I was kind of in the rhythm. You just play hockey. You don't think about the injury you had or anything else.'
Added Keefe: 'Man, was I happy we had him tonight.'
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In Keefe's postgame speech to the team, posted by the Devils on YouTube, he told his players Game 3 was 'as impressive a performance by a group of guys pulling together that I've been a part of in a real long time.'
Keefe credited the Devils with digging deep. That meant players across the lineup stepping up, including the stars. New Jersey's elite forwards delivered, with captain Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier all collecting points in regulation. Jacob Markström had another strong night, making 25 saves. He has continued to show why Tom Fitzgerald traded for him this past summer.
New Jersey needed more than just the big names, though. Nemec, of course, scored the winner. Fourth-line center Justin Dowling threw a hit shortly before the game-winning goal. Brian Dumoulin, a deadline acquisition from the Anaheim Ducks, played 36:26, more than any skater on either team.
'We put a lot of effort into that game,' Dumoulin said. 'We started to get rewarded as the game went on. Started to play on their half. We could see the building blocks were there. … Just proud of the group.'
'I thought we played a really hard-fought game,' added goalie Jacob Markström, who made 25 saves and continued to show why Fitzgerald acquired him last summer. 'We battled. That's what we've done all season.'
Carolina, with its relentless style, did not make the night easy for the Devils. After New Jersey jumped to a 2-0 lead, its penalty kill failed twice in the third period. After Sebastian Aho's equalizer, Hischier lay dejected on the ice for an extra moment. Then he climbed to his feet, skated back to his teammates and got back to work.
Dumoulin said it would've been easy to quit at that point, but that's not what his team did.
'We won't give up,' said Tomáš Tatar, who played only 11:07 but fired a dangerous shot on net in overtime. 'We want to work. We want to make it tough. We got that feeling — what we have to do to be able to come through and win. It's great we did it.'
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Keefe was pleased with the way his team attacked overtime, even with the lack of stoppages and the long change that led to tired legs. He could tell how exhausted players were in overtime, and he found himself looking at the skaters on the bench, trying to figure out who still had energy. 'I need more,' he told them. 'I need you. I need you. I need you.' Hischier, who played more than 30 minutes with Aho's line as his main matchup, said he'd never been more tired after a game.
All the efforts, big and small, culminated with Nemec, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, seizing a puck at his own blue line early in the second overtime. He cut through the neutral zone, split a pair of Carolina defenders and snapped a shot on Frederik Andersen. The puck hit off the Hurricanes goalie, then trickled into the net.
It took Nemec a moment to realize it had crossed the line. When he did, he threw his arms above his head. His teammates met him along the glass, mobbing him in celebration. After the game, he still struggled to find words for his emotions.
'I'm so happy,' he settled on.
'For me, we get what we deserved,' Keefe said, 'which is a win.'
(Photo of Simon Nemec: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)