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NEWARK − The Devils have never been swept out of a playoff series since moving to New Jersey, and that streak will continue.
Following a strong effort but a hard loss in Game 2, the Devils brought that momentum home to Newark and held and built a two-goal lead that would eventually evaporate.
Simon Nemec would get the game winner in double overtime for a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes in Game 3 to draw the Devils within two games to one in the series.
Jacob Markstrom was sensational in goal for the Devils with 25 saves in the victory and nearly earning his third career playoff shutout.
Dawson Mercer's goal in the third period gave the Devils a multi-goal lead for the first time in this series, which proved crucial as the Hurricanes would tie the game with two power play goals in the third period to force overtime.
New Jersey will have a chance to tie the series at two with a game at Prudential Center on Sunday afternoon in Game 4. Regardless of the result on Sunday, a win has forced the series to return to Raleigh for a Game 5 on Tuesday to give the Devils another chance to steal a game in this series on the Hurricanes' home ice.
Carolina has historically owned the Devils during playoff games in which they have led at any point. Down two games in the series and heading home, scoring first was a top priority for the Devils on Friday night.
Nico Hischier put the Devils ahead with a first period goal as he swiped the puck to his left and past Frederik Andersen.
It's the second straight game in this series that saw the Devils score first, but with a more favorable end result than Game 2's loss. More importantly, it was a first-period goal scored by the NHL's lowest-scoring team during the opening 20 minutes during the regular season.
A series involving two of the NHL's top five teams on the penalty kill meant this series likely would be decided on which team could break through with a man advantage. Carolina showed the first glimpses of either team doing that in Game 3.
The Hurricanes were held in check for much of Game 3, but were able to score on two crucial power plays in the third period.
A Jonas Siegenthaler interference call five minutes into the third resulted in a Seth Jarvis goal to end the shutout. Seven minutes later, Brett Pesce ended a shift of more than two minutes with a delay of game penalty. Carolina tied the game on the ensuing power play with Sebastian Aho's first goal of the series.
Meanwhile, the Devils finished the regular season in the top three of the NHL in power play percentage, a rate that got even higher after Jack Hughes was lost for the season back in March.
The Devils converted on 28.2 percent of power plays during the regular season, trailing only the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets. Despite that high mark, the Devils were unable to convert on any of their five power play chances to drop to 0-for-10 in the series.
For the first time since early February, Siegenthaler took to the ice on Friday during a morning skate and was a game-time decision for the Devils. The defenseman suited up and proved to be strong in his initial shifts as his minutes of ice time were expected to be low.
As the night wore on, more was seemingly asked of Siegenthaler as Jonathan Kovacevic was not with the team following the first intermission. Siegenthaler was assessed two penalties in his added ice time, including an interference call in the third period that led to the first Hurricanes' power play goal. Siegenthaler had 17:49 of ice time through regulation.
It continues a revolving door of the Devils on defense in this series. Brendan Dillon and Luke Hughes were both inactive Friday after injuries earlier in the series, while the returns of Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton have both returned from long absences and still recovering from injury.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Devils' Simon Nemec scores in double OT to defeat Hurricanes in Game 3
Continue reading...
Following a strong effort but a hard loss in Game 2, the Devils brought that momentum home to Newark and held and built a two-goal lead that would eventually evaporate.
Simon Nemec would get the game winner in double overtime for a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes in Game 3 to draw the Devils within two games to one in the series.
Jacob Markstrom was sensational in goal for the Devils with 25 saves in the victory and nearly earning his third career playoff shutout.
Dawson Mercer's goal in the third period gave the Devils a multi-goal lead for the first time in this series, which proved crucial as the Hurricanes would tie the game with two power play goals in the third period to force overtime.
New Jersey will have a chance to tie the series at two with a game at Prudential Center on Sunday afternoon in Game 4. Regardless of the result on Sunday, a win has forced the series to return to Raleigh for a Game 5 on Tuesday to give the Devils another chance to steal a game in this series on the Hurricanes' home ice.
Devils strike first on Nico Hischier goal
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Carolina has historically owned the Devils during playoff games in which they have led at any point. Down two games in the series and heading home, scoring first was a top priority for the Devils on Friday night.
Nico Hischier put the Devils ahead with a first period goal as he swiped the puck to his left and past Frederik Andersen.
It's the second straight game in this series that saw the Devils score first, but with a more favorable end result than Game 2's loss. More importantly, it was a first-period goal scored by the NHL's lowest-scoring team during the opening 20 minutes during the regular season.
Power outage
A series involving two of the NHL's top five teams on the penalty kill meant this series likely would be decided on which team could break through with a man advantage. Carolina showed the first glimpses of either team doing that in Game 3.
The Hurricanes were held in check for much of Game 3, but were able to score on two crucial power plays in the third period.
A Jonas Siegenthaler interference call five minutes into the third resulted in a Seth Jarvis goal to end the shutout. Seven minutes later, Brett Pesce ended a shift of more than two minutes with a delay of game penalty. Carolina tied the game on the ensuing power play with Sebastian Aho's first goal of the series.
Meanwhile, the Devils finished the regular season in the top three of the NHL in power play percentage, a rate that got even higher after Jack Hughes was lost for the season back in March.
The Devils converted on 28.2 percent of power plays during the regular season, trailing only the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets. Despite that high mark, the Devils were unable to convert on any of their five power play chances to drop to 0-for-10 in the series.
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Limited defenses
For the first time since early February, Siegenthaler took to the ice on Friday during a morning skate and was a game-time decision for the Devils. The defenseman suited up and proved to be strong in his initial shifts as his minutes of ice time were expected to be low.
As the night wore on, more was seemingly asked of Siegenthaler as Jonathan Kovacevic was not with the team following the first intermission. Siegenthaler was assessed two penalties in his added ice time, including an interference call in the third period that led to the first Hurricanes' power play goal. Siegenthaler had 17:49 of ice time through regulation.
It continues a revolving door of the Devils on defense in this series. Brendan Dillon and Luke Hughes were both inactive Friday after injuries earlier in the series, while the returns of Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton have both returned from long absences and still recovering from injury.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Devils' Simon Nemec scores in double OT to defeat Hurricanes in Game 3
Continue reading...
