Schaefer and Pelech Receive Oar, Helmet in Win Over Minnesota

It was a banner night for the Islanders defensive unit as Matthew Schaefer scored twice, including the OT-winner 33 seconds into the extra frame, and Adam Pelech scored his first goal of the season in a 4-3 win over the Minesota Wild on Thursday.  

As a result, Schaefer was awarded the oar and Pelech was given the hardest worker helmet in the locker room postgame.

It was a gutsy win for the Islanders, who beat the Central Division leaders. It was also the Isles’ first win of the year when giving up the first goal of the game.  

The Islanders were down to five defensemen just under three minutes into the first period as Ryan Pulock – who played a total of 51 seconds – left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Despite the injury to Pulock, the Islanders were able to keep a dynamic Wild offense at bay after Eriksson Ek’s opener less than a half a minute in. The Isles showed they can play with an elite team like the wild when they’re playing together within their system.  

“Pete [DeBoer] and all of them were talking to us about we got to stick to our style, stick to what works,” Schaefer said. “We got to stick to those systems because when we're in our systems, when we're playing our Islanders hockey, no one can play against us, and it's tough to play against, it frustrates the other teams. I think we just stuck to our game there from the start to the finish, we you know played some good hockey.” 

Schaefer didn’t need to play all five minutes of overtime on Thursday and capitalized on his first opportunity in the extra stanza.  

His game-winner was a 2-on-1 with Simon Holmström and a perfect blocker side shot on Jesper Wallstedt propelled the Isles to their second straight win. The Isles have secured at least one point in seven of the last eight games (5-1-2).  

“I was happy to get that one there, but I mean Pager made a nice play up, and Holmer was going backside, so I just took what I was given,” Schaefer said. “To get a big win against a big team and keep it rolling from Nashville on. I think we just got to keep rolling, learn from this road trip, and keep going.”

Schaefer, Pelech and the Isles D core stepped up in a big way as Schaefer became the first teenage defenseman man in NHL history with three career overtime goals.  

Schaefer scored his fifth career game-winning goal, matching Rasmus Dahlin and Mikhail Sergachev for the third most by a teenage defenseman in NHL history.  

He now has five career multi-goal games and is tied with Phil Housley for the most such games by a teenage defenseman in NHL history.

Schaefer recorded three points in 30:01 of time-on-ice, his second straight game with over 30 minutes played and had a single-game career-high 35 shifts.  

The 19-year-old sensation matched his longest career point streak at six games and has eight points (4G, 4A) in that span. He’s now totaled 14 points (4G, 10A) in 13 games.

Pelech meanwhile played a season-high 23:49 and gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead 7:14 into the third period less than three minutes after an unfortunate tripping penalty set up a Wild power play.  

Pelech also tallied three shots, three blocked shots and one hit.  

“Tough seeing Pully go down early but a lot of guys stepped up, played really well,” Pelech said. “Great goaltending as always, and it's a big win.”