ST. PAUL, Minn. — The first factor Matthew Schaefer said in his postgame scrum Thursday night time was not about his time beyond regulation winner. It wasn’t about his three-point night time, nor his second straight recreation logging half-hour, nor that he outplayed Quinn Hughes on a night time when both famous person defensemen had it going.
Instead, Schaefer wished to speak about his turnover that led to the Wild tying the recreation with under 4 minutes to go in regulation.
“That’s obviously my fault there,” Schaefer said. “But honestly, we learned from it.”
New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer celebrates his aim against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Saint Paul, Minn. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It’s questionable how much of the fault was his, but it was one last means Schaefer managed to impress everyone in a night time full of them.
Down to 5 defensemen for most of the night time after Ryan Pulock exited with an upper-body harm having performed just 51 seconds, the Islanders bested the Wild 4-3 on the 19-year-old’s time beyond regulation winner, incomes what was simply their greatest victory in the season’s first month.
“I know everyone talks about Schaef, and he deserves every accolade he gets, but this was a team win tonight,” head coach Pete DeBoer said. “We had four lines and five ‘D’ that were committed to giving us a chance to win and playing the right way.”
He was proper on both counts.
This was the Islanders’ greatest crew recreation of the season. It was also Schaefer at his jaw-dropping greatest — enjoying half the recreation, scoring twice, helping a third aim and profitable most of his shifts in the hardest of matchups.
“I mean, when I was 19, I was a sophomore at Michigan,” Hughes said, having scored two factors to fall quick of Schaefer’s three. “And when Cale [Makar] was 19, he was a freshman and did one more 12 months or two more, I overlook. But same with [Adam] Fox, he did three years. [Zach] Werenski too. All these guys I just talked about were in school at this child’s age.
New York Islanders gamers have fun a aim against the Minnesota Wild in Saint Paul, Minn., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
“So he’s obviously really good.”
The reward from inside the Islanders’ own room was just as effusive.
“At least once a period, I curse to myself on the bench, or on the ice even, just ’cause he’s very special,” Logan Stanley said.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Kiersted (26) skates with the puck as New York Islanders heart Kyle MacLean defends, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
The crew effort, though, was practically as good as Schaefer’s particular person effort.
The Islanders never were overwhelmed by the Wild’s velocity. They protected the center of the ice in their own zone and performed good, bodily hockey for 60 minutes. It didn’t fairly preserve Minnesota’s cadre of superstars quiet, but it definitely stored the dwelling crew from taking over the recreation — while ensuring it was performed on the Islanders’ phrases.
“We’ve talked about it since training camp,” DeBoer said. “When we have detail in our game, play hard like that in hard areas of the rink, we give ourselves a chance to win.”
The Isles entered the third interval tied at two but with a big 8-3 edge on high-danger possibilities at five-on-five.
Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt defends his aim while Olli Maatta journeys New York Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Saint Paul. NHLI via Getty Images
The likelihood to retake the lead came after the Islanders killed off their third penalty of the night time. After Victor Eklund won a puck battle alongside the boards, it floated to Adam Pelech in house. The defenseman’s shot hit Michael McCarron in the leg before getting previous Jesper Wallstedt.
There was still loads of recreation left from there, and an Islanders protection that had been stout all night time began to present some put on late in the recreation. Matt Boldy tied it on the rush with 3:53 to go after a couple of poor shifts in a row put the Islanders on their heels.
It salvaged the Wild a level, but for a second straight recreation, Schaefer performed all of time beyond regulation.
Joel Eriksson Ek celebrates his aim with teammates Quinn Hughes and Jonas Brodin during a recreation in Saint Paul, Minn., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
Instead of all 5 minutes, though, he netted the winner on a two-on-one rush after 33 seconds.
The only improvement about which the Islanders might be quietly nervous is that of Ilya Sorokin. In his first begin after letting in six targets against the Stars — a efficiency that could simply be called both an outlier and a product of poor protection — the goaltender let in three softies.
First, just 27 seconds into the recreation, Joel Eriksson Ek beat him clear from 41 ft out. Then, late in the second interval, Hughes lifted a sharp-angle backhand previous Sorokin’s pads to tie the recreation at two. Even Boldy’s tying aim was one Sorokin most likely should have had, despite Schaefer’s rush to blame himself.
“No one liked the second goal and [the] first, the start of the game,” Sorokin said. “But after, I tried to stay focused and play the full game. I don’t like, again, the goal with two minutes left. As a [team], I liked our overtime goal. It’s a big ‘W’ against a really good team.”
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