Schaefer Plays All Five OT Minutes as Islanders Beat Predators
The 19-year-old defenceman became the first skater to play an entire overtime since the NHL began officially tracking real-time ice time in 2009-10, as New York won 4-3 in a shootout.
Matthew Schaefer did not come off the ice in overtime, and the New York Islanders left Nashville with a 4-3 shootout win over the Predators on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old defenceman played all five minutes of the extra period in a single shift. NHL.com notes that no skater had done that since the league began officially tracking real-time ice time in 2009-10. The 5:00 shift was also the longest by an Islanders skater on record, topping the 4:50 shift Casey Cizikas played on March 9, 2023. Schaefer finished with 32:16 of ice time and an assist.
The reigning Calder Trophy winner now has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 12 games in his second NHL season. He is averaging 26:43 a night, fourth most in the league, and the assist stretched his point streak to five games.
The Islanders nearly let this one get away. Anthony Duclair and Brayden Schenn scored in the first period, and Bo Horvat made it 3-0 at 1:08 of the second, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Schaefer. Filip Forsberg, on the power play, and Alexander Kerfoot answered for Nashville later in the second, and Ryan O'Reilly tied it 3-3 at 4:16 of the third.
Kyle Palmieri and Horvat scored in the shootout to settle it. Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves for his first NHL win since Nov. 14, 2024.
