On Tuesday Matthew Schaefer had his first multi-point game, dropping a goal and an assist, leading the New York Islanders to a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. Schaefer now has points in each of his six NHL games played. Schaefer’s first point of the night came 9 minutes and 26 seconds into the game, when the Islanders were trailing 1-0. He made a give and go pass with Matt Barzal, who passed it to Bo Horvat, who fired it in from the right faceoff dot. Schaefer received a secondary assist on that play. His goal came 6 minutes and 38 seconds into the second period, when the Islanders had a 3-2 lead. Schaefer drove the net on a zone entry, received a pass from Anthony Duclair at the doorstep of the goal, then made no mistake putting it past Sharks netminder Yaroslav Askarov and into the back of the net.
Schaefer received high praise from Islanders Head Coach and Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy. “(Schaefer’s) most complete game (this season). He was good offensively and defensively,” said Roy. He went on to say, “I know that eventually, Matthew (Schaefer) will bring a lot of people into this building. I have no doubt in my mind.” Captain Anders Lee also applauded Schaefer for his play. “I think he’s had his game from the get-go", said Lee. “I get to play with him every day and practice and see him in the games, and he’s just a hell of a hockey player, and is making a big difference on this team and our back end,” added Lee.
Schaefer is now tied for the longest point streak to start a career as a defenseman. Marek Zidlicky is the only other defenseman to have accomplished this feat. He did it in 2003 for the Nashville Predators when he was 26 years old. He is the second youngest defenseman in NHL history to have a multi-point game and the youngest to score a game winning goal. He is also the youngest player in NHL history to start their career with a six-game point streak. Cale Makar is the only defenseman that has more points than Schafer this season. Schafer is currently leading all rookies in points.