Islanders Need To Keep Wild At Bay vs Prized Rookie
- Dominic Konareski
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
Islanders hockey will be face-to-face tonight vs the Wild at UBS in hopes of rebounding from a 4-3 shootout loss Tuesday vs Boston.
The 6-5-2 Islanders, who are -3 in the goal differential department, currently stand as the best New York hockey team over the 6-6-2 Rangers and 5-win Sabres. Overall, a sixth-place ranking in the Metropolitan Division with 14 points has seen the Islanders struggle to get a consistent footing through their first 13 games.
Minnesota is 10-3-1 in their last 15 games against the Islanders, as they come off a narrow loss themselves against the Hurricanes.
The moral of tonight’s story for New York will be protection. Can the New York Islanders protect their prized possession that is rookie Matthew Schaefer? The 18-year-old is a top candidate for the Calder Trophy with his record-breaking entry that has marked the first month of his NHL career.
Ranking in the 98th percentile at 22.93mph in skating speed and in the 89th percentile for hardest shot at 93.91mph (according to NHL Edge) are impressive for a seasoned NHL defenseman. Put these numbers next to an 18-year-old and you have something that quite literally may be generational.
And it’s not like Schaefer has been 18 for a few months, he just turned 18 on September 5th.
In 13 games, Schaefer has 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points while averaging roughly 21 minutes per-game of ice time. His workload has been heavy, but it has shown little-to-no wear for the Canadian-born lefty.
Teams have taken notice of Schaefer and his impact for the blue and orange. Tuesday night vs Boston put the impact into retrospect. The second period incident when Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov slammed into Schaefer drew the immediate reaction of his Islanders’ teammates, leading to a brawl.
Fighting is part of hockey, heck some watch just for the fights, but it is undeniable that dirty hits are frowned upon. Schaefer is one of the few positive points so far this season for New York and losing him due to an injury from an enforcer hit would be devastating.