Matthew Schaefer played an ENTIRE five-minute overtime against Nashville on Tuesday.. apparently he decided that was too much work, because Thursday night he ended overtime against Minnesota in just 33 SECONDS.
The 19-year-old Islanders defenseman played 32 minutes and 16 seconds against Nashville, including all five minutes of overtime without coming off the ice. He’s the first NHL player to do that since the league started tracking shift lengths in 2009-10.
Then Thursday night against Minnesota, he scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime. But I actually like how that second goal happened even more.
Late in the third period, Schaefer had a clearing attempt intercepted, and Minnesota tied the game. That’s a pretty lousy mistake to make when you’re trying to protect a lead.
So what does he do? Gets the puck on a two-on-one in overtime, has a teammate going to the net, and decides he’s taking the shot himself. Game over.
That was his THIRD career overtime goal, the most EVER by a teenage NHL defenseman.
I love the confidence this kid plays with. He’s 19 years old, already getting ridiculous ice time, and when he makes a mistake, he wants to be the guy who fixes it.
The Islanders have something pretty damn special here.
