Takeaways: Schaefer’s OT Winner Lifts Islanders To 3-2 Win Over Utah

Matthew Schaefer scored his first-career OT winner on Friday night, lifting the New York Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Utah Mammoth at Delta Center.

Emil Heineman and Jonathan Drouin scored for the Islanders in regulation, while JJ Peterka and Dylan Guenther scored for Utah. David Rittich stopped 27 of 29 shots faced in the win, while Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves in the overtime loss for Utah.

The win marks the third straight OT win – a franchise first – and their fourth straight win overall to improve to 4-0-0 on their current trip. Friday also marked the second straight game where the Isles were down by a goal, found the tying tally late in the third period and got the job done in overtime.

“If you look at the last two games, trailing and coming back to tie the game and winning it in OT, it’s good for our confidence,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “We were confident that we could come back. That shows a lot of character.”

TAKEAWAYS:

A young player got the better of a young franchise on Friday, as Schaefer was the overtime hero on Friday night. After controlling possession for the entire overtime, Barzal created space at the top of the slot and swiftly passed the puck to Schaefer, whose one-timer in the right circle beat Vejmelka at the 2:06 mark of the extra frame. Schaefer became the youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal, while he took the league lead in goals scored among defensemen (7).

“He’s a great player. Unbelievable,” Rittich said. “18 years old and playing that way, with that much confidence, tells you everything you need.”

- The Islanders had to battle their way back into the game and settle in after the Mammoth came out hard and dominated the first period. Despite an early 9-3 SOG advantage for Utah, Heineman opened the scoring, swiping in a shot from the right circle at the 7:13 mark of the first period. The Mammoth found their first goal when Peterka deposited a backdoor pass from Lawson Crouse, shifting the momentum in their favor. The Mammoth took advantage of a 5-on-3 at the end of the first period after Simon Holmstrom took a penalty for delay of game seven seconds after Schaefer was found guilty of interference. Guenther’s slap shot from the left dot beat Rittich cleanly at the 18:35 mark of the middle frame.

- After allowing a goal at 5-on-3, the shorthanded units rattled off four straight kills in support of the comeback effort. Rittich played a crucial role in the strength of the penalty kill – he notably kicked away an attempt from Nate Schmidt to keep the Isles within one. He kept the Islanders in it, in a game where they didn’t get off to their best start. Rittich was tested early - in a period where the Isles were outshot 13-6, Rittich had to make three saves in the opening minute of the game.

“It could have been 5-1 after one, and he was great all night,” Anders Lee said. “They had some big blasts, one-timers and cross-ice plays. They’re a skilled team coming into the zone and he gave us a chance. We backed him up at the end.”

- For the second straight game, the Islanders found a late goal in the third period to tie the game, as Drouin scored to tie it at two apiece at the 13:44 mark of the frame. But unlike Thursday’s game-tying goal from Barzal against the Golden Knights, Drouin’s goal was scored in controversial fashion. His goal was originally ruled to be a kicking motion, but upon further review the refs determined that Utah’s Schmidttouched the puck last before it went in the net, making it a good goal for the Islanders.

- Heineman’s goal was his eighth of the season and 12^th point on the season. The 23-year-old is two goals shy of tying a career-high 10 goals and six points shy of tying a career-high 18 points established through 62 games with Montreal last season.

- The Islanders improved to 3-0-0 on the second half of back-to-back sets this season.

- Bo Horvat extended his point streak to eight games with the secondary assist on Schaefer’s winner. Horvat has 12 points (6G, 6A) over that span.

- Barzal extended his point streak to six games and has six points (2G, 4A) over that span.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders continue their seven-game road trip with a stop in Colorado to take on the Avalanche. Puck drop is set for 9PM EST.