Matthew Schaefer was the hero for the New York Islanders on Thursday night, putting together his best individual performance of the 2026-27 season and scoring the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena.
In the process, the 19-year-old became the first teenage defenseman in National Hockey League history to score three career OT goals, per Sportsnet.
He finished the night with two tallies and an assist while seeing over 30 minutes of ice time; no other NHL player this century has played that much while recording a multi-goal game and scoring an overtime winner.
It was a terrific performance from Schaefer, who is already New York's most important player. He's tied for the team lead with 14 points in 13 games and showing no signs at all of a sophomore slump.
“I was happy to get one there,” Schaefer said of the winner, per NHL.com's Tyler Brosious.
The Hamilton, Ontario native scored just 33 seconds into the extra frame, beating Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt on a 2-on-1.
It earned the Isles their second consecutive win, improving their record to 7-4-2. Schaefer is on a six-game point streak, matching his career high from last season. He has eight points in that span.
Only four teenagers in franchise history have recorded longer point streaks: Pat LaFontaine (11 games in 1984-85), Bryan Trottier (nine and eight games in 1975-76), Tim Connolly (seven games in 2000-01) and Brent Sutter (seven games in 1981-82), per Brosious.
Article Continues Below“That was maybe our most complete game of the year,” head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters. “Come in on the road against this team with their record here and what they've looked like all year and to go down a man early in the game like that and play short. Gutsy effort by our group.”
With their road trip concluded, the Islanders return home looking to win three straight for the first time this season.
They'll welcome Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to UBS Arena on Saturday afternoon, with puck drop set for just past 2 p.m. ET. The Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils will be on Long Island next Thursday and Saturday, respectively, to complete the homestand.