Simon Nemec Breaks Out; Scores Hat-Trick; Downs Blackhawks in OT

Forget those Simon Nemec trade rumors. After a legacy game like that, the New Jersey Devils would have to think twice before even entertaining the idea.

The Devils walked into the United Center for their first of a five-game road trip, and were saved by an unlikely hero against the Chicago Blackhawks. Or so we thought.

Nemec has been inconsistent through the early goings of his career. Perhaps he’s finally breaking out, and this is who the Devils envisioned when they selected Nemec second overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.

The Devils’ blueline is decimated by injures. Thus, they needed someone to step up in a big way. Nemec has answered the call of late, and propelled the Devils to another two points on Wednesday.

Let’s dive into how New Jersey defeated Chicago 4-3 in overtime.

Period One

The Devils and Blackhawks got off to an even, fast start, trading even strength chances through the first five minutes. Jesper Bratt broke into the offensive zone a step ahead of Chicago defenders and crashed the Blackhawks net.

However, Spencer Knight closed the door on the Devils forward, who tried to score on the backhand to keep the game knotted at zeros.

After Bratt’s attempt, the Devils began to tilt the ice in their direction, pressuring Knight, however, the Blackhawks’ goaltender stood tall.

However, Ondrej Palat severed that momentum at the 10:33 mark when he was called for hooking in the offensive zone, sending New Jersey to the penalty kill.

While on the PK, Bratt and Nico Hischier sprung for an odd-man rush after the Swedish forward intercepted a pass at the Devils’ blueline. Yet, Hischier couldn’t connect with Bratt on the rush, and Artyom Levshunov recovered the puck.

The Devils killed off the Palat minor, and even play resumed. That was until Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon were called for consecutive minor penalties that left the Devils shorthanded for 1:28.

Jacob Markstrom made several big saves for New Jersey on the PK, however, Connor Bedard struck first with the Devils goaltender caught out of his net.

After a strong start to the first period, the Devils unraveled a bit after the midway mark, and went into the first intermission down 1-0. Both Cody Glass and Zack MacEwan were injured in the opening frame.

Period Two

Glass returned at the start of the second period, however, MacEwan did not. And although Glass returned, he took just one shift, and went back to the locker room after realizing he was too injured to go one, leaving the Devils short two men.

The Devils dominated the second period, however, limiting the Blackhawks to just three shots in the entire 20 minutes.

Knight, however, was equally strong, making numerous high-danger saves, including stops against Hischier and Jack Hughes on consecutive breakaways.

Yet, the Devils finally broke through in the closing moments of the middle frame, after Simon Nemec drove the net on a rush, and scored on a backhand shot, his second goal in as many games, to tie the game at one.

Period Three

New Jersey picked up where they left off in the second period at the start of the third.

Yet, an errant pass by Luke in the Devils’ own zone cost New Jersey, as Logan Slaggert regained the lead for Chicago as the result of a giveaway.

Yet, the Devils fought back to tie the game at two again. Arseny Gritsyuk gained the offensive zone from the neutral area, collected his own rebound after Knight turned aside his shot. The Russian forward then found Jack on the right wall, who threaded a cross-ice pass to Dawson Mercer, and he scored back door.

It was a short-lived lead, however, as Sam Lafferty found a loose puck in the neutral zone, snuck behind Luke on a one-on-one drive, and scored on Markstrom, who appeared out of position again.

With the Devils trailing 3-2, Jack wasn’t done making an impact on the game. He gained the offensive zone on the left wall with three Blackhawks defenders on him. The Devils forward curled away from the pressure, found Stefan Noesen cross-ice, who then fed Nemec for the tap-in on Knight’s back door to tie the game at three.

Overtime

The Devils had an early chance to end things in overtime when Mercer had the puck on his stick, and only Knight stood between him and the twine. The Blackhawks’ goaltender came up big with a pad save, and overtime continued to develop.

Then, as the clock neared the minute and a half mark, Markstrom played the puck in the Devils’ zone amid a Blackhawks change. It was a heads-up play, as he saw Nemec alone at the Chicago blue line. The Devils goaltender sent the puck up ice to the 21-year-old defenseman, springing him for a semi-breakaway.

A quick snapshot by Nemec beat Knight, securing a 4-3 victory for the Devils, his first career hat-trick, netting his fourth goal of the season.

Markstrom made 17 saves on 20 shots and picked up the primary assist on the game-winning goal.