Simon Nemec is New Jersey Devils' most unlikely hero, but he wins Game 3 in overtime

The New Jersey Devils are not dead yet. They cut the Carolina Hurricanes' lead in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in half after a 3-2 win on Friday night. But this wasn't just any win. This was a win in double overtime after blowing a 2-0 lead in the third period. This was a momentum swing of the largest proportions. And the reason the Devils are in this position is thanks to the youngest player on the roster.

First, we need to rewind a little bit. Simon Nemec was the worst player on the Devils this season. We're not trying to use conjecture. Nemec by all accounts was awful this season. The former second-overall pick showed concerning trends, a drop in Hockey IQ, some truly dreadful mistakes that directly led to goals, and his offense wasn't as impactful as it was last season.

Nemec saw his spot get taken in the lineup by Johnathan Kovacevic, and Nemec was eventually demoted to the AHL for most of the season. A laundry list of injuries had Nemec return to the lineup, but when Dougie Hamilton was cleared to play in the postseason, Nemec was on the bench again.

Then, Luke Hughes was injured. The Devils future star defenseman has been out for Games 2 and 3. Sheldon Keefe was running out of players to trot out there, as Jonas Siegenthaler and Brenden Dillon were out for Game 2. So, he had to take a risk and hope the better version of Nemec we saw at the end of the season would show up in the playoffs.

Nemec has been really good in the two games he's played, but nothing is like what we saw in Game 3. The Devils lost Kovacevic in the first period, meaning they were down to just five defensemen for the rest of the game. Nemec played big minutes, getting an opportunity to show he wasn't the same mistake-prone defenseman he was for most of the regular season.

Nemec avoided the big mistakes, and he had the big offensive moment he has been waiting for. Just under three minutes into double overtime, with more than 22 minutes of ice time played already, he took a shot that slipped past Freddie Andersen and won the Devils Game 3.

This was a young defenseman playing like a man possessed. He never made a mistake, and he was on the ice for six high-danger chances according to Natural Stat Trick. Still, it was the goal that set the stage for everything.

Having it be Nemec, a player that seems to be well liked and has a lot of people rooting for him, could lift the team more than a Nico Hischier or Jesper Bratt goal. Don't get us wrong, any overtime goal is huge, but it coming from the most unexpected of people gives the team a lift.

The Devils return to the Prudential Center in just 40 hours. They don't have time to rest, but it might be a good thing for this Devils team. An injury to Kovacevic isn't a good thing, but Nemec playing this well is a great thing. Hopefully, they get Luke Hughes back