Islanders beat Wild in overtime as Matthew Schaefer scores his second goal of game

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Matthew Schaefer’s overtime encore was even better, if possible.

In the previous game, he became the first NHL player to be on the ice for all five minutes of a regular-season extra period. This time he scored the overtime winner as the Islanders completed a 2-1-0 Western Conference swing with an impressive 4-3 victory over the Wild, one of the NHL’s stronger teams, on Thursday night at Grand Casino Arena.

They earned the victory despite being down to five defensemen after Ryan Pulock (upper body) was injured early in the first period.

“I knew [Schaefer] was upset about the third goal and you could tell he wanted to get it back for us even before overtime started,” coach Pete DeBoer said, referring to Matt Boldy’s equalizer at 16:07 of the third period after he skated around Schaefer. “That competitiveness and edge he has to be a difference-maker is really rare.”

“I wanted it really for bad for [Ilya] Sorokin and our team because they got that goal late and that’s obviously my fault there,” said Schaefer, who kept the puck on a two-on-one rush and scored 33 seconds into OT. “A big win against a big team, keep it rolling.”

Schaefer’s scoreline: two goals, one assist in 30:01 with six shots and another NHL record set. He is the first teenage defenseman with three career overtime goals.

He played a career-high 32:16 in Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout win in Nashville, and the 19-year-old’s talent never ceases to amaze his teammates.

“At least once a period, I curse to myself on the bench or on the ice, even, because he’s very special,” Logan Stanley said. “The most impressive thing is how hard he defends and how well he defends. That’s tough for a young kid to defend that well in this league, and he does it with ease.”

“I feel like he’s always on the right side of the puck,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “He knows when to attack, when to stay back. He’s playing like he’s been playing in the league for 10 years.”

The Islanders (7-4-2) won after ceding the opening goal for the first time (1-4-1), with Joel Eriksson Ek scoring 27 seconds into the game by beating Sorokin (22 saves) past his glove. The Wild (9-3-3), who got 22 stops from Jesper Wallstedt, lost for the first time at home (4-1-0).

According to NaturalStatTrick.com., the Wild were held to five high-danger chances skating five-on-five against the Islanders’ solid defensive structure, which mostly kept the puck away from the slot and crease. The Islanders generated 11 high-danger chances.

They went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill even without Pulock and 1-for-2 on the power play.

“It was maybe our most complete game of the year,” DeBoer said. “Gutsy effort by our group. We didn’t beat ourselves. We put the puck in good places.”

Still, there were some concerns with the otherwise impressive performance.

Pulock took a seemingly innocuous check from Blake Coleman 44 seconds into the game and grabbed at his left shoulder, played one more shift and exited at 2:57. He underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason after playing through the injury toward the end of last season before being shut down. A lengthy absence would further chip away at the Islanders’ defense depth with Alexander Romanov (right knee) out for the season.

Sorokin gave up three questionable goals, including defenseman Quinn Hughes’ sharp-angle backhander through his pads that tied it at 2-2 at 17:21 of the second period. Boldy’s goal also went through Sorokin’s pads.

“I feel good, but I didn’t like the second goal and the first to start the game,” he said. “I tried to stay focused and play the full game. It’s a big W against a really strong team. The guys did a good job and it was really helpful.”

Defenseman Adam Pelech put the Islanders ahead 3-2 at 7:14 of the third period with a fluttering wrist shot that deflected off the Wild’s Michael McCarron.

Schaefer corralled a bouncing rebound in the left circle off Emil Heineman’s shot from the right circle and tied it at 1-1 at 16:36 of the first period.

That extended his point streak to six games, matching a career high set in the first games of his rookie season, and moved him into sole possession of sixth place in NHL history for points by a teenage defenseman with 71. He’s tied for second in team history for the most goals by a teenager with 26.

“It was a really tight hockey game,” said Bo Horvat, who redirected Simon Holmstrom’s shot from the high slot for a power-play goal to make it 2-1 at 1:41 of the second. “We had some big penalty kills, some big saves. A lot of big plays by a lot of guys.”

But none bigger than Schaefer.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.