Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer becomes youngest defenseman in NHL history with multi-goal game – The Hockey Writers – New York Islanders
He’s already off to an incredible start as an 18-year-old NHL defenseman, but on Sunday night, New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer tied the game with two goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets and set another all-time record.
At 5 minutes and 53 seconds of the first quarter, Schaefer opened the scoring and the Islanders led 1-0, but in the end the team fell behind 1-2. But with the net empty as time approached in the third period, Schaefer struck again with just over a minute left for his second goal of the game, sending it into overtime and securing his first multi-goal game in the NHL.
What makes this feat even more impressive – in addition to how well he adapted to the NHL – is that with two goals, Schaefer passed Bobby Orr on November 23, 1966, to become the youngest multi-goal defenseman in NHL history.
Orr was only 18 years and 248 days old at the time. Judging from Sunday’s performance, Schaeffer is only 18 years and 58 days old – a number that will be difficult to surpass anytime soon.
For Schaeffer, however, it’s not about personal achievement. Instead, he was more impressed with what his team did in the final minutes and overtime to secure the win.
“We really crushed them on the floor,” he said of his team’s comeback win. “That’s a big turnaround for the guys. Wow. I mean, it’s fun to play hockey and it’s fun to watch hockey when your team gets to work and watch the game. [gets] There were a couple of big goals there and, you know, in the last minute. So it’s fun to watch and fun to play. “
The 18-year-old has had an incredible first month of his NHL career and currently has five goals and 10 points in 12 games for the Islanders. Not only does this lead all defenders in goals, but his 10 points are tied for third-most among defenders in the league. As for his fellow rookies, he leads first-year goals in goals and is tied with Ivan Demidov for the rookie scoring lead.
While it’s only 12 games, it’s just a sample, and the Islanders and their fans hope they can continue to complete Schaeffer’s first regular season in the NHL.
