Islanders' Matthew Schaefer and a dash of confidence add up to extra points after 60 minutes
Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders against the Tampa Bay Lightning at UBS Arena on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
DETROIT — Those extra points add up, often separating the 16 postseason qualifiers from the 16 sad-eyed, playoff-watching teams.
So it’s a good sign for the Islanders, who look like a different team this season in games that go past regulation, that they now are getting those extra points.
Part of it is No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer. Part of it is confidence.
All of it is a key reason they will enter Tuesday night’s game against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena jockeying for the Metropolitan Division — and Eastern Conference — lead rather than slogging through their seemingly annual chase to squeeze into a wild-card spot.
The Islanders closed a 3-0-0 homestand with a 3-2 shootout win over the Lightning on Saturday, their third win over them in 12 days. They opened the homestand on Tuesday with a 5-4 shootout win over Vegas after rallying from a 2-0 deficit.
That left the Islanders (19-11-3) with a 2-3 record in shootouts to go with their 3-0 mark in three-on-three, five-minute overtimes.
Coach Patrick Roy was succinct when asked to compare this season’s improvement in confidence to last season when games make it past 60 minutes.
“I guess it’s day and night,” Roy said. “That’s why we came with joy and compassion and boldness and have some swagger, have some clarity in what we want to do. I think these words are coming back a lot. I feel like it makes a difference. Our guys deserve a lot of credit the way they handle those situations.”
Last season, the Islanders finished 5-9 in overtimes after starting the season 1-6. Coupled with their 2-3 mark in shootouts, it’s easy to see why they wound up nine points shy of a playoff berth at 35-35-12.
But adding the 18-year-old Schaefer’s elite speed and playmaking to the three-on-three mix has helped keep opponents back on their skate heels. Especially when Schaefer and the equally swift Mathew Barzal comprise two-thirds of an Islanders overtime shift and can create odd-man rushes.
The Islanders currently are somewhat compromised skating three-on-three with Bo Horvat out with a left leg/ankle issue. Roy had been able to separate Barzal and Horvat and have two dangerous three-man units. Or, as was the case in the Islanders’ most recent overtime victory, have Horvat, Barzal and Schaefer all on the ice together.
That came in a 3-2 victory in Utah on Nov. 14 as Schaefer became the youngest player in NHL history to score in overtime. It marked the Islanders’ third overtime win in five days as part of the 6-1-0 road trip that started their standings ascension.
Barzal, on the ice with Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Tony DeAngelo, scored as the Islanders beat the Devils, 3-2, on Nov. 10. Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s shorthanded goal, with defensemen Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock skating with him, clinched a 4-3 win over Vegas on Nov. 13.
And though their shootout record matches last season at this point, the Islanders seem better equipped now for the skills competition.
To start, Ilya Sorokin is back to playing at a Vezina Trophy level, which he did not reach last season. And Horvat (when healthy), Simon Holmstrom and Emil Heineman are trusted shootout shooters, though the loss of Kyle Palmieri (left knee) for the season was a big subtraction.
Horvat is 1-for-5, Holmstrom is 2-for-6 and Heineman is 2-for-2 after netting the deciding shootout goals against the Lightning and Vegas, going last in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
“It’s a bit nervous, to be honest,” Heineman said when asked what it’s like to have the game riding on his stick. “It is a lot on the line. But you just have to see the opportunity in it.”
And what did Heineman see against Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson as he approached?
“I was reading some of the other [shots],” Heineman said. “I try not to do it too complicated. Take what I see and go from there.”
It was a winning strategy twice on the homestand. And those extra points are a key reason why the Islanders have become one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
