Schaefer's OT Winner 33 Seconds In Sinks Minnesota

Matthew Schaefer scored twice and added an assist, then ended it all 33 seconds into overtime to give the Islanders a 4-3 win over Minnesota. The kid looks like the real deal — three points in a game that went back and forth four times before he personally closed it out.

Minnesota jumped on New York fast. Just 27 seconds into the first period, Joel Eriksson Ek buried a wrist shot — his fifth of the year — with Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes picking up the assists. It was the kind of early gut-punch that can set a tone, and it appeared to give the Wild all the momentum in the building. But Schaefer answered at 16:36 of the first, wiring a wrist shot past Jesper Wallstedt to tie it at one. That goal, assisted by Emil Heineman and Victor Eklund, was a sign of what was coming from the 19-year-old.

The Islanders took control early in the second when Bo Horvat tipped one home at 1:41 — his seventh of the season — with Schaefer picking up the helper to make it 2-1. Minnesota refused to fold. Quinn Hughes, playing defense but clearly not content to just defend, ripped a backhand past Ilya Sorokin at 17:21 to knot it again at two. The third period followed the same script: Adam Pelech — no assists, just pure will — put New York ahead at 7:14 with his first goal of the year, and Matt Boldy answered with his sixth at 16:07 to force overtime. Four lead changes, two unassisted goals in the third, and neither goaltender blinking. Sorokin finished with 22 saves on 25 shots; Wallstedt matched him with 22 saves on 26 shots. Both were good. Neither was good enough to prevent overtime.

Then Schaefer happened again. Thirty-three seconds into the extra frame, he took a feed from Jean-Gabriel Pageau and wired his second wrist shot of the night past Wallstedt to end it. That's four goals on the season for Schaefer, three points tonight, and what looks like a player who doesn't just contribute — he decides games. The story of the night was New York's ability to absorb every Minnesota answer and keep coming. The Wild got contributions from Hughes and Boldy and still lost, which appears to say more about the Islanders' resilience than any Minnesota shortcoming. New York takes this one 4-3.