Game 13
Isles 4, Minnesota 3 (OT)
Matthew Schaefer scored his second goal of the game :33 into overtime as the Isles defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-3, before a sellout crowd of 18,155 at Grand Casino Arena.
Joel Eriksson-Ek had scored :27 into the game but Schaefer evened it later in the period. The teams traded goals in both the second and third stanzas as well, setting the stage for Schaefer’s heroics.
The Isles head home to begin a three-game homestand, on Saturday at 2pm, against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Joel Eriksson Ek (5) Kirill Kaprizov (10), Quinn Hughes (16) 00:27 NYI 0, MIN 1
Matthew Schaefer (3) Emil Heineman (4), Victor Eklund (2) 16:36 NYI 1, MIN 1
2nd Period
Bo Horvat (7) Simon Holmstrom (3), Matthew Schaefer (10) 01:41 PP NYI 2, MIN 1
Quinn Hughes (4) Ryan Hartman (3), Jonas Brodin (4) 17:21 NYI 2, MIN 2
3rd Period
Adam Pelech (1) 07:14 NYI 3, MIN 2
Matt Boldy (6) 16:07 NYI 3, MIN 3
Overtime
Matthew Schaefer (4) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6) 00:33 NYI 4, MIN 3
The Skinny
The Isles went 1-2 on the power play and killed all three Wild power plays; it was only the second power play goal in seven road games for the Isles (Horvat also scored vs. the Rangers) …. Scott Mayfield played 5:27 of the 6:00 that the Isles were shorthanded… The Isles’ PK is 20-22 in the last seven games… Matthew Schaefer extended his point streak to six games; Adam Pelech scored for the first time in 32 games and later hit the cross-bar, depriving him of his first career two-goal game… Bo Horvat has four of the seven Islander power play goals this season and now has 25 career power play goals for the Isles (and 92 overall); he is the 35th player in club history with 25 power play goals….Schaefer is the fourth Islander defenseman with at least three career OT goals; Thomas Hickey leads the way with five, while Roman Hamrlik and Ryan Pulock also both have three…The Wild scored
in the opening minute for the third time this season; it was the seventh time that Ilya Sorokin has allowed an opening minute goal, with the last being scored by Brayden Schenn then with St. Louis, last November…It was the fourth time this season that Ilya Sorokin allowed a goal in the final four minutes of regulation.
The Injury
Ryan Pulock left the game after two shifts with an upper body injury. He did not return.
Milestone Men (non-Schaefer)
- Ilya Sorokin played his 317th Isles game, one behind Rick DiPietro for 2nd place in club history.
- Adam Pelech’s goal was his 180th point, breaking a tie with Mark Streit for 10th place in club defense history.
- Bo Horvat scored his 106th Islander goal, passing Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall for 31st in club history.
- Semyon Varlamov has 290 NHL wins, tied with Ed Giacomin for 48th all-time. 42 goalies have won at least 300 games.
- Varlamov has played 177 games for the Isles, tied with Jaroslav Halak, who sits 8th in club history.
- Varlamov has 77 wins for the Isles, tied with Roland Melanson for 8th in club history.
- Ryan Pulock remains one point behind Nick Leddy for 4th place in club history.
The Schaefer’s
- Matthew Schaefer recorded his 71st, 72nd and 73rd points, passing both Scott Stevens and Bobby Orr to move into 5th place on the teenage defenseman point list. He is 59 points behind Phil Housley’s teenage record.
- He now has 27 goals - passes Pat LaFontaine for 2nd place among Isles teenagers.
- Schaefer is the youngest player in NHL history to record three overtime goals.
- It was his fifth game winner - ties Bryan Trottier - most by Isles teenager.
- Schaefer now has back-to-back 30 minute games; he is the youngest to do so in NHL history— had never been done by someone under 21-years-old.
- He is now tied-16th with Vladimir Malakhov for career goals by an Islander defenseman.
- Schaefer recorded his fifth career 2-goal game; only Denis Potvin (44) has more as an Islander defenseman.
- Schaefer has played over 25 minutes 51 times in his first 95 career games; since ice-time became official, no other player has done that more than 45 times (Brock Faber).
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Matthew Schaefer 27
Most Points by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 132
2. Rasmus Dahlin 84
3. Ray Bouque 79
4. Rick Hampton 76
5. Matthew Schaefer 73
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 27
Schaefer has scored the most goals by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Matthew Schaefer 46
Schaefer has the most assists by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Tim Connolly 75
3. Matthew Schaefer 73
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier and Matthew Schaefer 5
Most Shots on Goal by an Islander Teenager
1. Tim Connolly 285
2. Matthew Schaefer 272
Schaefer will play this entire season as a teenager.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 32:16 10/27/2026 at NSH (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
3. Matthew Schaefer 30:01 10/29/2026 at MIN (OT)
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/31/2026 at BUF
4. Matthew Schaefer 29:29 10/15/2026 at OTT (SO)
6. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
Matthew Schaefer 29:24 10/22/2026 vs LA (OT)
8. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 at SJ (OT)
The last Islander to play more than 32:16 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than the 31:59 Schaefer played on 3/24/2026 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by a Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 32:16 10/27/2026 at NSH (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
3. Jay Bouwmeester 30:57 1/30/2003 for FLA vs. DET (OT)
There are seven recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game, including Schaefer three times and Seth Jones twice. Schaefer is the first teenager with eight games of at least 29 minutes.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 83 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a teenager in a single season since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-98) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have one come-from behind win this season, including no times when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win one time this season, including zero times in the third period.
The Isles have zero multi-goal comeback wins (zero in the third period); opponents have zero (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 1-1 in games decided by an overtime goal; they are 1-1 in shootouts.
Last season the Isles established an NHL record by winning all ten games decided by an overtime goal.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have not scored with the sixth attacker and allowed three empty net goals.
Opponents have scored two goals with the sixth attacker and allowed two empty-netters to the Isles.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2026-27: 7-4-2 for 16 points in 13 games
• 2025-26: 6-5-2 for 14 points in 13 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 3-1-4
• Season: 6-23-29
• Last Season (Final) 40-126-166
The 40 goals are the most for the Islander defense since they had 41 in 2022-23.
Home and Road
The Isles are 7-4-2 overall; they are 4-1-1 at home and 3-3-1 on the road.
Minnesota is 9-3-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 5-3-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 2-3-1 against the East (1-1-0 vs. Metropolitan and 1-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 5-1-1 against the West (3-1-0 vs. Central and 2-0-1 vs. Pacific).
Coach DeBoer
Pete DeBoer is 670-454-154 as an NHL coach, and 8-7-2 with the Isles.
Career Wins
15. Mike Keenan 672
16. Todd McLellan 671
17. Pete DeBoer 670
First Things First
The Isles are 6-0-1 when scoring first and 1-4-1 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 10-6-8-2=26
Minnesota 12-5-8-0=25
The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 3-3-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves; he is 6-3-0 this season and 3-4-1 vs. Minnesota.
Jesper Wallstedt made 23 saves; he is 8-2-3 this season and 1-0-1 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-2 (2:44); Minnesota was 0-3 (6:00).
The Isles are 4-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-2-1 when they do not. The Isles are 2-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-0-2 when they do not.
The Isles are 3-0-1 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 2-1-0 when they are outscored, and 2-3-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles 7-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 4-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season. The first back-to-back will be on November 27th vs. Winnipeg and November 28th at Philadelphia.
The Isles are 1-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (30:01); Minnesota: Quinn Hughes (Career-high 33:41)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:57).
Shots on Goal
Isles 26 (Matthew Schaefer – 6)
Minnesota 25 (Matt Boldy and Quinn Hughes – 4)
Shot Attempts
Isles 57 (Matthew Schaefer – 9)
Minnesota 59 (Matt Boldy – 10)
Face-offs
Isles 33, Minnesota 25 (57%)
Bo Horvat won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Yakov Trenin won 2 of 2 for Minnesota.
Hit Count
Isles 30 (Kyle MacLean – 5)
Minnesota 31 (Nico Sturm – 5)
Blocked Shots
Isles 15 (Adam Pelech – 3)
Minnesota 12 (Jonas Brodin – 3)
Fights
None. Season total: 5 (Stanley-2, Schenn, Pelech, Chaffee)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Minnesota 58
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 51, Minnesota 45
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Matthew Schaefer and Simon Holmstrom +11
Minnesota: Two with +3
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Minnesota 7
5-on-5: Isles 11, Minnesota 5
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Cal Ritchie (INJ), Matias Maccelli (INJ), Matthew Kessel
Games Lost to injury: 33. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 339th consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues); it is the 8th longest active streak in the NHL. Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have also played in every Islander game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-1-1 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on November 5th against Carolina.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-0 in matinee games. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 18-24-14 in matinees.
The first matinee will be on Halloween, when the Isles host the Oilers at 2:00pm.
Challenges
Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures. OTT (Offside) 10/15.
Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): Vs NJD 10/3, vs VAN 10/13
Vs (2): @ NYR 10/6, vs TB 10/10
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of the other team)
Isles responses (0):
Opponent responses (2): ANA 10/20, DAL 10/25
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (0):
Vs (0):
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (0):
Vs (1): Brandon Hagel (GWG) 18:16 – 10/10 vs. TB
OT Winners
For (1): Matthew Schaefer (MIN) 10/29
Vs (1): Brandt Clarke (LA) 10/22
Shootout Winners
For (1): Kyle Palmieri (NAS) 10/27
Vs (1): Shane Pinto (OTT) 10/15
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 \\* 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 \\* 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 \\*
4. Casey Cizikas 991…
15. Brent Sutter 694 \\* 16. Adam Pelech 655 \\* 17. Ryan Pulock 649 \\* 18. Derek King 638 \\* 19. Billy Harris 623 \\* 20. Stefan Persson 622 \\* 21. Scott Mayfield 619 \\* 22. Mathew Barzal 611
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 \\* 2. Bryan Trottier 500 \\* 3. Denis Potvin 310 \\*
17. Patrick Flatley 160 \\* 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 \\* 23. Casey Cizikas 125…
30. Ray Ferraro 116 \\* 31. Bo Horvat 106
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 \\* 2. Denis Potvin 742 \\* 3. Mike Bossy 553 \\*
4. Josh Bailey 396 \\* 5. Mathew Barzal 381…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 \\* 24. Ryan Pulock 186…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 \\* 33. Casey Cizikas 157 \\* 34. David Volek 154 \\* 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 \\* 36. Adam Pelech 149
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 \\* 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 \\* 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 \\* 10. Anders Lee 549 \\* 11. John Tonelli 544 \\* 12. Bob Bourne 542 \\* 13. Mathew Barzal 533…
27. Ed Westfall 286 \\* 28. Casey Cizikas 282 …
32. Nick Leddy 243 \\* 33. Ryan Pulock 242
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 \\* 16. Adam Pelech +81 \\* 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 \\* 18. Garry Howatt +75 \\* 19. Pat Price +70 \\* 20. Ryan Pulock +68 \\* 21. JP Parise +67 \\* 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 \\* 2. Adam Pelech 655 \\* 3. Ryan Pulock 648\\*
4. Stefan Persson 622 \\* 5. Scott Mayfield 619
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 \\* 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 \\* 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 \\*
4. Ryan Pulock 56…
12. Adrian Aucoin 33 \\* 13. Bryan Berard and Adam Pelech 31 \\* 15. Scott Mayfield 30 \\* 16. Vladimir Malakhov and Matthew Schaefer 27
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742\\* 2. Stefan Persson 317 \\* 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 \\*
4. Nick Leddy 198 \\* 5. Ryan Pulock 186 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 \\* 10. Adam Pelech 149…
13. Dave Lewis 117 \\* 14. Roman Hamrlik and Scott Mayfield 110
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 \\* 2. Stefan Persson 369 \\* 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 \\*
4. Nick Leddy 243 \\* 5. Ryan Pulock 242…
9. Jeff Norton 188 \\* 10. Adam Pelech 180…
14. Dave Lewis 141 \\* 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 \\* 2. Rick DiPietro 318 \\* 3. Ilya Sorokin 317…
8. Jaroslav Halak and Semyon Varlamov 177
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 \\* 2. Ilya Sorokin 160 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 \\* 8. Roland Melanson and Semyon Varlamov 77
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 30 \\* 2. Glenn Resch 25 \\* 3. Billy Smith 22 \\*
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Matthew Highmore scored two power play goals, including one in overtime as the Hamilton Hammers improved to 3-6-0-1 this season with a 5-4 win over the Hartford Wolfpack on Thursday. Quinn Finley had three helpers in the win; Hamilton heads to Syracuse on Friday.
Team leaders:
Goals: Mitchell Chaffee and Matthew Highmore (4); Assists: Liam Foudy (8); Points: Foudy (11)
Goalies: Vitek Vanecek (1-3-1), Josh Kotai (2-3-0)
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will conclude the season series on February 13th at UBS Arena.
The Isles have won twice in St. Paul in 2026, with both wins in overtime; they are 3 -7-1 in their last eleven meetings with the Wild.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31st -- EDMONTON AT ISLANDERS 2:00pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 1:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles return home to open a three-game homestand as they welcome Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers for a Halloween matinee.
The Isles have been very successful on home-ice against the Oilers, going 14-1-3 since the start of the century. They are 4-0-1 against Edmonton at UBS Arena.
Last season the Isles swept the series, winning 4-2 at home for their first win of the season, and blanking the Oilers 1-0 in Edmonton in January. The Isles have points in the last five meetings with the Oilers (3-0-2).
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in “The Skinny” has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com
