Devils Rookies Shine at Worlds on Day 4 | WORLDS

Photo courtesy of Jäzva/Peter Jesenský

On Day 3 of at the World Championships, the New Jersey Devils were well represented on the scoreboard. Two of the four games on Monday's schedule featured players from the Devils roster and put New Jersey teammates in head-to-head battles.

First up were rookies Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes between Slovakia and the USA as they dueled it out with two points each, while Nico Hischier continued to put points on the board with his fifth point in just two games in Switzerland's shootout victory against Ondrej Palat and the hometown team Czechia.

Check out below for your recap and highlights of both games!

SLOVAKIA 5, USA 4 (OT)

USA: Luke Hughes
SVK: Simon Nemec

In a head-to-head battle between two Devils' rookie defensemen, neither Luke Hughes nor Simon Nemec disappointed. Both were major factors for their respective countries in the thrilling matchup won by Slovakia in overtime.

Hughes was the first to strike. At 4:48 of the second, he assisted on Matt Boldy's (MIN) goal, the first for Team USA to bring the score to 2-1 in Slovakia's favor.

Next, it was Nemec's turn. His was a goal, firing a rocket from the top of the right circle and cleanly behind goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (PIT) to give his team.

The back and forth continued between Hughes and Nemec with Hughes next tying the game with 4:22 left on a highlight reel, coast-to-coast goal wiping away the Slovak 4-1 lead and tying the game. With Hughes sending the game into overtime, his Devils counterpart would not be outdone. It was then time for Nemec, who set up the game-winning goal at 3:56 of overtime, unleashing a shot from the blueline that was re-directed mid-air by teammate Milos Kelemen to seal the victory.

The two Devils rookies showcased exactly why they are so highly touted not just by the New Jersey Devils but their national team clubs as well, both ending the night with two points a piece. Nemec played a team-high 22:57, while Hughes played 19:09 and was once again paired with Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson.

Slovakia sit second in Group B with 5 points, with 1 win and 1 overtime win, while the U.S. are fourth with four points after three games with a win, a loss and an overtime loss.

Hughes was named Team USA's Player of the Game.

SWITZERLAND 2, CZECHIA 1 (SO)

SUI: Nico Hischier, Jonas Siegenthaler, Akira Schmid
CZE: Ondrej Palat

Regulation couldn't settle the score between Switzerland and Czechia, neither could the five minutes of overtime. So it was off to the shootout between Switzerland and Czechia where the Swiss spoiled the night for the home crowd.

Switzerland improves to 3-0-0 to start the tournament.

In regulation, Nico Hischier helped set up Swiss teammate Kevin Fiala for Switzerland's long goal for his fifth point of the tournament.

Hischier left the game with 3:29 left in regulation after he was caught in the face by Ondrj Kase's skate near his cheek. He returned with just seconds left in regulation to take the final faceoff before overtime. When Hischier returned he was wearing a Swiss jersey with no name plate on the back and No. 49. In total, the Devils captained played 21:54 with two shots and an assist, while Jonas Siegenthaler played 21:03 with one shot. Goaltender Akira Schmid backed up starting Swiss netminder Leonardo Geononi.

Hischier, with his assist, remains in the tournaments Top 10 in scoring, sitting tied for second (8 players) with five points in three games and is tied for third in goals with three.

For the Czech's Ondrej Palat played 19:39 and had a team-high 5 shots on goal.

Switzerland jumps to first place in Group A with eight points with two right-out wins and one overtime/shootout victory.

Czechia sit fourth in the group with six points.

UP NEXT:

Only one game will involve New Jersey Devils players on Tuesday. Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws and Canada take on Austria at 2:20 p.m. ET