“We had five defensemen for most of this game,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Game 3. “You got Siegenthaler just jumping in the lineup. You have Nemec, who’s 21 years old. It’s his second-career playoff game. You have Pesce, who is way less than 100 percent and is giving us everything that he has. Two veterans in Dumoulin and Hamilton really stepping up for us.”
Leading the way for the Devils has been 33-year-old Dumoulin. The 10-year NHL veteran has logged a team-high 28:21 minutes per game, which ranks third in the entire league in the postseason. Dumoulin, who was acquired at the NHL trade deadline from Anaheim, logged 36:29 minutes in Game 3, the second highest total in his career.
“He’s clearly a veteran. He’s won (Stanley Cups) before. He knows what it takes,” Keefe said. “Man am I happy this guy is on our team. He’s played so well. He’s so calm out there. He knows what he’s doing. He’s very low maintenance, consistent. I’m very impressed with him. He played extraordinarily well.”
Not far behind Dumoulin are Pesce (26:17) and Hamilton (25:22). Pesce has turned in a gritty performance while playing with an issue that has kept him out of practices and morning skates. Despite being “way less than 100 percent,” Pesce racked up 32:25 minutes in Game 3 while sacrificing his body further to lead the team with six blocked shots.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has only played in four games (three in the postseason) since suffering a lower-body injury on March 4. Those three playoff games have seen him play 20:52, 23:59 and 31:16 respectively.
Similarly, Siegenthaler was projected to return in mid-May. While his injured bone is fully healed, he wasn’t afforded the usual time to ramp up his conditioning due to the Devils’ decimated D corps. So, he was thrown back into the lineup with just one practice under his belt and shouldered the intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Not to mention double overtime duty.
“Siegenthaler comes in. We’re trying to keep his minutes down. All of a sudden you’re down to five D and getting into double overtime, and he was incredible,” Keefe said. “I was so impressed with him. A, just jumping into the lineup tonight, but then play the way that he did in this environment and in these circumstances is so impressive. It really is.
“Siegenthaler really embodied what our team was about today.”
Siegenthaler not only played nearly 30 minutes of hockey (27:09), but he led the team with five hits while also blocking three shots. Quick the welcome back.
“I didn’t expect to play that much, but I prepared myself mentally for whatever comes. If you’re in the flow you don’t think too much about anything. That’s kind of good,” Siegenthaler said after the game. “I’m pretty gassed right now. It’s good too. It wasn’t easy but I think we all battled through it.
“It’s playoffs. It’s a whole other beast. I was just trying to prepare myself mentally. It took me a couple shifts. I think after the first period I found my legs. After that I was just playing hockey. I’ve done it my whole life. In the end if you just play hockey, you don’t think too much about anything else.”
The Devils have a veteran defensive corps with Dumoulin, 33, Hamilton, 31, Pesce, 30, and Siegenthaler, 27. But the aplomb play of 21-year-old Nemec also stood out.
In just his second career NHL playoff game, Nemec played 22:39 minutes of ice time. And he seemed to get better as the game went on.
“Actually, I felt better each period. For me, it was pretty good. But five D-men, we played a lot,” Nemec said. “I just feel good. This is my game. I have to jump into the play. But I think my defense was also pretty good tonight.”
Jumping into the play allowed Nemec to win the game for the Devils. Early in the second overtime, Nemec picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated up ice. Nemec gained the blue line and made an outside-inside move to get by Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield. With a lane to the right dot, Nemec carried and then shot far side on goalie Frederik Andersen, squeaking the puck through and over the goal line to win it for New Jersey.
“It’s like a dream. Overtime in the playoffs. Overtime game-winning goal,” he said. “I just feel really good.”
“I thought it was a great play by him to jump in and attack, get a hard shot off,” Keefe said. “For him to have the mindset to do it, the energy to do it, not just sitting back and conserving energy with five D, he was on the front foot. You love to see it and love to see him get rewarded.”
Dillon and Hughes have already been ruled out for Game 4. The availability of Kovacevic is unknown. If he isn’t able to play, the Devils will have to make a decision on whom to dress as the sixth defenseman. Cholowski, Seamus Casey, Colton White and Topias Vilen are available to the team.
But no matter who dresses, the Devils would love to start a game with six defensemen and end a game with six defensemen, for once.
“You look at what we’ve been through already in this series, it’s been a lot,” Keefe said. “I’m just so impressed with our team, the defense in particular obviously. It’s so fitting Nemec gets the game-winner for us.”
