“That’s obviously my fault there, but honestly, we learned from it.”
That was the assessment from 19-year-old New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer following a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Saint Paul, Minn. Despite logging three points, playing half the game, and outplaying Quinn Hughes, Schaefer immediately pointed to a late turnover that allowed the Wild to tie the game with under four minutes remaining in regulation.
The victory stands as the Islanders’ best victory in the season’s first month. Playing down to five defensemen for most of the night after Ryan Pulock exited with an upper-body injury just 51 seconds into the game, New York relied heavily on Schaefer’s workload and a collective defensive effort.
A Defenseman’s Heavy Minutes
Schaefer logged 30 minutes of ice time for the second straight game, scoring twice and adding an assist. His performance drew immediate comparisons to elite NHL blue-liners during their respective developmental years.
“I mean, when I was 19, I was a sophomore at Michigan,” Quinn Hughes said after recording two points for Minnesota. “And when Cale [Makar] was 19, he was a freshman and did one more year or two more, I forget. But same with [Adam] Fox, he did three years. [Zach] Werenski too. All those guys I just mentioned were in college at this kid’s age. So he’s obviously really good.”
Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer emphasized the collaborative nature of the win despite Schaefer’s standout box score. “I know everyone talks about Schaef, and he deserves every accolade he gets, but this was a team win tonight,” DeBoer said. “We had four lines and five ‘D’ that were committed to giving us a chance to win and playing the right way.”
How the Game Unfolded
The Islanders entered the third period tied 2-2, holding an 8-3 edge in high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five. New York broke the tie after killing off their third penalty of the night. Following a puck battle along the boards won by Victor Eklund, Adam Pelech sent a shot toward the net that deflected off Michael McCarron’s leg and past Minnesota goaltender Jesper Wallstedt.
Minnesota responded late in regulation when Matt Boldy scored on the rush with 3:53 remaining, capitalizing on a couple of poor shifts in a row to salvage a standings point for the home team.
In the extra session, however, Schaefer needed just 33 seconds of his second straight overtime appearance to convert a two-on-one rush for the game-winning goal.
Goaltending Concerns for New York
While the offense and defensive pairings delivered, Ilya Sorokin’s performance in net raised quiet questions. Making his first start since surrendering six goals against the Stars, Sorokin allowed three goals.
Joel Eriksson Ek opened the scoring just 27 seconds into the game, beating Sorokin clean from 41 feet out. Later in the second period, Hughes lifted a sharp-angle backhand past Sorokin’s pads, and Boldy’s late equalizer also beat the netminder.
“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.”
