Simon Nemec notched a hat trick, including the game-winner at 3:26 of overtime, boosting the visiting New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Nemec registered the first multigoal game of his three-season career as New Jersey won for the third time in four games (3-0-1).
Dawson Mercer scored a goal, Jack Hughes logged two assists and Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves for the Devils.
Connor Bedard, Landon Slaggert and Sam Lafferty were the Blackhawks’ goal-scorers. Nick Foligno and Louis Crevier recorded two assists apiece, and Spencer Knight stopped 33 shots.
Chicago was outshot 37-20 — 27-8 after the second period — as its three-game winning streak ended.
A wild third period sent the game to OT. Slaggert tipped Crevier’s point shot past Markstrom at 3:05, delivering a clutch goal hours after being recalled from AHL Rockford. The tally gave Chicago a 2-1 lead.
With forwards Andre Burakovsky, Jason Dickinson and Frank Nazar injured, Slaggert skated on Chicago’s fourth line.
New Jersey tied the game just more than seven minutes later, with Mercer converting a one-timer from the left circle off a long feed from Hughes.
Lafferty gave Chicago a 3-2 lead at 13:34, scoring on the backhand after beating a defender with a toe drag in front of the crease.
The Devils answered less than three minutes later, with Nemec tapping a Stefan Noesen pass near the goal line into the net.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead at 18:35 of the first period on a power-play goal from Bedard. He buried a one-timer from Teuvo Teravainen during a 5-on-3.
Bedard and teammate Artyom Levshunov hit the crossbar moments earlier.
New Jersey leveled the score with 15 seconds remaining in the second period. Nemec lifted a backhander past Knight from just inside the left circle.
Knight stopped Hughes and Nico Hischier on breakaways about 40 seconds apart in the second.
Bedard has scored in four straight games and has eight goals and 11 assists over a nine-game point streak.
Devils forward Cody Glass left the ice in the closing seconds of the first period. Glass slid hard into the boards as he darted back to defend a Chicago odd-man rush. He skated for just one more shift the remainder of the game.
New Jersey’s Zack McEwen was injured earlier after taking a hard hit from Connor Murphy.
–Field Level Media
