Simon Nemec scores in 2nd OT to lift Devils past Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 3

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Simon Nemec came up with a big play when the New Jersey Devils needed a boost.

Nemec scored 2:36 into the second overtime and the New Jersey Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series.

“We played a great game and big win for us,” the 21-year-old defenseman said.

Nemec brought the puck up the right side, made a deke move in the right circle and fired it past Frederik Andersen.

“Great play by him to jump in and attack and get a shot off," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said.

Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer scored in regulation for New Jersey and Jacob Markstrom had 25 saves. The Devils cut their series deficit to 2-1 after losing the first two games on the road.

“It was unbelievable, what a team effort,” Markstrom said. “It's a 2-1 series now and we have a chance to tie it up in a few days.”

Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, Seth Jarvis also scored, and Andersen finished with 34 saves for the Hurricanes.

Game 4 is Sunday back at Prudential Center, and Game 5 is Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Both teams had chances in the first overtime and the goalies came up with big saves and blocked shots. New Jersey, which had two power plays in the period, had an 8-2 advantage on shots.

The Devils got defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler back for the first time since Feb. 4, but were without Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon for the second straight game. New Jersey then lost another defenseman, when Johnathan Kovacevic didn’t return after the first intermission.

Mercer pushed the Devils' lead to 2-0 at 1:17 of the third period after Andersen made a pad save to deny Jesper Bratt's driving attempt. With the goalie out of position, Mercer went behind the net to get the puck and brought it in front on the left side but whiffed on his attempt to tuck it in. However, Andersen dove to get back in the play and knocked the puck across the line with his stick.

Jarvis got the Hurricanes on the scoreboard with a power-play goal from the right circle at 6:11.

Aho tied it with another power-play goal with 7:40 left. Markstrom came out to his left to make a save on a shot by Andrei Svechnikov, who got the puck back and passed to to Aho in the right circle and he fired it past Siegenthaler and Hischier in front of the net.

“We did fight back and tie it up, there was an eight-minute stretch where it was kind of good, the rest was not our game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Tip your hat to New Jersey, they did what they had to do. We were just not very good.”

The Devils got on the scoreboard late in the first period when Timo Meier found Hischier streaking to the net, and Hischier appeared to lose control of the puck as he tried to move it to his forehand, but the puck slid across the goal line on the left side with 3:49 left. It was New Jersey's third goal of the series and second by Hischier.

The Devils nearly added to their lead late in the second period during a scramble in front of Andersen, but the goalie was down on his stomach and gloved Meier’s attempt from the left side with 6:04 remaining.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

New Jersey Devils' Jacob Markstrom, left, and Simon Nemec (17) celebrate after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New Jersey Devils left wing Erik Haula,, second from left, has his shot stopped by Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the first period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) scores against Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, left, and goaltender Frederik Andersen, right, during the first period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New Jersey Devils Nico Hischier , right, celebrates with Ondrej Palat and Timo Meier (28) after scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) reacts after scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns (8) trips New Jersey Devils right wing Timo Meier, right, during overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Carolina Hurricanes center Jack Roslovic (96) passes the puck against New Jersey Devils center Cody Glass (12) and goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) during the second period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, right, celebrates with Shayne Gostisbehere (4) and Seth Jarvis (24) after scoring against the New Jersey Devils during the third period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing William Carrier (28) passes the puck against New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec (17) during the second period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) puts New Jersey Devils center Paul Cotter (47) in a chokehold during the first period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) and New Jersey Devils center Paul Cotter (47) fight during the first period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Friday, April 25, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The party of Kosovo 's Prime Minister Albin Kurti won an early parliamentary election Sunday in the Balkan country by a clear margin, near-complete preliminary results showed.

The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after some 96% of the ballots were counted.

The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election (is this correct?).

It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone.

The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.

Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.

After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovo’s 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant “more legitimacy for our institutions.”

“Once the election result is known, we will do our best to constitute a new parliament as soon as possible and to proceed with the election of the new government,” he said.

Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities.

According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.

Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.

Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo urged voters to “move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years.”

A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”

“Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.

A man folds his ballot prior to voting in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A couple cast their votes in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Voters fill their ballots behind voting booths for early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Kosovo's acting prime minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti casts his ballot in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)