Devils' 4-2 Win vs. Blackhawks: Nemec to the Rescue

Šimon Nemec was instrumental in helping the New Jersey Devils come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-2 win.

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It was a wild affair at the Prudential Center last night, but the New Jersey Devils managed to come away with two points they had to have against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. Here are three takeaways from the 4-2 win. 

Nemec Leads the Comeback

The Devils got off to a solid start last night, but the game flipped for a little bit after Brendan Smith put a hard hit on Connor Bedard, knocking the rookie sensation out of the game. After that, the physicality went up a notch and partly took the Devils out of their game. 

Understandably, the Blackhawks started mucking things up to stand up for Bedard. The Devils ended up taking 26 minutes worth of penalties, and as a result, they fell behind 1-0 when Jason Dickinson scored a power-play goal that Vitek Vaněček should've made a save on. 

You'd expect star players like Jack Hughes or Jesper Bratt to bail the team out on most nights. But yesterday, 19-year-old rookie sensation Šimon Nemec helped the Devils complete the comeback. 

It started in the second period when Nemec made a fantastic keep at the blue line as the Blackhawks tried to flip the puck out of their own end. Nemec gloved the puck and quickly put it on his stick to make a pass to Holtz. Holtz then fed the puck to Nemec, who did a great job of selling the shot and instead passed to Holtz, who had a wide-open net. 

The Blackhawks then took a 2-1 lead, but again, Nemec helped tie the game. This time, he fired a wicked wrist shot past Arvid Soderblom's blocker to make it 2-2. 

There's a calmness to Nemec's game that you don't see with many teenagers in the NHL, especially for defensemen. His keep at the blue line was a perfect example. He was under pressure and did not have much space to get the puck to Holtz, but he reacted in a split second to make the play. 

Nemec finished third in Game Score to Holtz and Michael McLeod last night and earned the first star of the game. It was fair to eventually expect this kind of play from him in his career. But to already be this impactful has been a pleasant surprise. 

McLeod & Holtz Can't Be Stopped