Matthew Schaefer leads the NY Islanders to their best win of the season, beating the Minnesota Wild in OT

The NY Islanders faced their biggest test of the young season, taking on the surging Minnesota Wild. The billing lived up to the hype as the game played out to be one of this season's most entertaining.

The Isles looked to be in trouble right off the opening face-off, trailing by a goal 27 seconds into the game courtesy of Joel Eriksson Ek. Matthew Schaefer's third goal of the season nodded things up, corralling a Jesper Wallstedt rebound and firing the puck into the back of the net.

Early in the first period, Ryan Pulock sustained an upper-body injury and didn't return, leaving the Islanders with five defensemen.

Bo Horvat gave the Isles their first lead, redirecting a Simon Holmstrom pass on the power play early in the second stanza. Quinn Hughes, who set a career high in ice time, playing 33:41, fooled Ilya Sorokin on what may have been a pass, beating the netminder to the far post from a tough angle.

Adam Pelech's first of the season, 7:14 into the third, gave the Isles the lead once again, but a puck off the boards by Scahefer that couldn't clear Matt Boldy turned into a break the other way, with Boldy beating Sorokin to even the score once again with 3:53 to play.

Into OT we went again, where Schaefer made up for his mistake, carrying the puck into the zone on a 2-on-1, looking off the goaltender before firing the puck off the post and into the back of the net.

"It was maybe our most complete game of the year," Pete DeBoer said postgame. "Come into this arena on the road against this team with their record here and what they look like all year... Going down a man early and then, and playing short... Again, gutsy effort by our group."

The Islanders sit at 7-4-2 with 16 points, and will head back to Long Island for a three-game homestand beginning with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

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