Schaefer scores 1st goal in Islanders loss to Capitals

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Matthew Schaefer scored his first NHL goal, but the New York Islanders lost 4-2 to the Washington Capitals at UBS Arena on Saturday.

Schaefer, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, had an assist in a season-opening 4-3 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

“He was just so good. I mean, he was our best player out there tonight,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “I mean, I thought he brought energy at the end of the second period, and then we got that power play, and he deserved to be there, plain and simple. I mean, he's exciting to watch. If I'm a fan, I'll pay to watch him play. There's no doubt about it.”

Aliaksei Protas had two goals and an assist, and Jakob Chychrun had two assists for the Capitals (1-1-0), who play the second of a back-to-back set at the New York Rangers on Sunday. Logan Thompson made 34 saves.

“I think we had so many good chances off of our forecheck,” Protas said. “… I think [in] the neutral zone, like transition, we were way faster today than against Boston (in a 3-1 loss Wednesday). I think we were moving back, like way faster and like I said, capitalizing [on] our chances. There’s so many areas to clean up, but I think we'll get through that as the season goes on.”

Anthony Duclair scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for the Islanders (0-2-0).

Martin Fehervary gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 1:50 of the first period. After Alexander Romanov blocked an Alex Ovechkin point shot, Fehervary jumped on the puck and beat a sprawling Sorokin high blocker side with a backhand from the low slot.

“We just couldn't break their pressure. It’s as simple as that,” New York captain Anders Lee said. “They came and they were all over us, on top of us, and we couldn't get through it. And that led to a first period that we didn't set out to have. I mean, we weren't coming out with it clean. And they were winning the races.”

Protas gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 13:52 of the first. Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom turned the puck over on the left half-wall in his own zone, leading to Protas scoring from the slot off a pass from Chychrun.

Ryan Leonard extended the lead to 3-0 when his wrist shot from the slot deflected off the knee of New York defenseman Scott Mayfield and past Sorokin's glove at 9:50 of the second.

Protas scored his second of the game at 15:30 for a 4-0 lead. He took advantage of a turnover by Tony DeAngelo at the Capitals blue line before beating Sorokin on a breakaway.

Duclair cut it to 4-1 on the power play at 18:51, beating Thompson glove side from inside the right circle.

Schaefer got the Islanders within 4-2 at 4:28 of the third with a power-play goal. With bodies in front and the puck loose after Thompson made three quick saves at the right post with his right pad, Schaefer dove at the edge of the crease and got enough of the puck to flip it over Thompson's pad.

“I think I’ve seen the exact same scene in ‘The Mighty Ducks’ or something,” Schaefer said. “It was good. Obviously the big thing with me is just, I love to win. I thought we battled back, and I thought it was a great fight back for sure.”

The Capitals used a coach's challenge for a missed game stoppage, contending that there was a hand pass prior to the goal, but the call on the ice was upheld.

Schaefer finished with eight shots on goal, 14 attempts and 26:04 of ice time, all game highs.

“I just thought we were playing on our toes,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Guys were being aggressive in really, really good spots. And so it set us up for the night, to have the start we did. And we were able to hang on and face some adversity in the third period. They pushed, and you could feel the energy in the building come alive there, and we had to hang on.

“And sometimes at the beginning of the year, you're trying to work your way through those things. We don't have a win yet. Guys are a little nervous. You're gripping the sticks. So I don't mind the way that finished, of us having to grind through that and hang on and battle a little bit of adversity.”

NOTES: Schaefer (18 years, 36 days) became the second-youngest defenseman in NHL history to score a goal. Ross Johnstone scored at 17 years, 207 days for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1943-44, then scored again later that season at 17 years, 328 days. … Protas has four points (two goals, two assists) through the first two games of the season.