It's beginning to pass the point of hyperbole and becoming a reality that Matthew Schaefer sets some sort of record every night he steps on the ice.
After passing Bobby Orr for the second-most goals by a teenage defenseman on Sunday, the 19-year-old accomplished something no other player has since the lockout in 2004.
Schaefer plays the entire OT period for the Islanders
In the NY Islander's 4-3 SO victory over the Nashville Predators last night, Schaefer became the first player to play all five minutes of the overtime period. Schaefer, taking the ice to begin overtime, drew a tripping penalty on Ryan O'Reilly 30 seconds into the 3-on-3. With Semyon Varlamov heading the bench and playing 4-on-3 on the delayed penalty, the Islanders possessed the puck for 1:47 until the Predators finally touched the puck. Peter DeBoer used his timeout, giving Schaefer a breather, and deployed the teenager once again on the power play, where he remained for the rest of overtime.
"He was all over the ice tonight," DeBoer said of Schaefer postgame. "Like he is every night. He wants to make a difference every shift, and that's what's so special about him. There's also a learning curve on when to pick your spots and how to do that too, and he's eventually going to get to that. But the enthusiasm to change the game every time his skates hit the ice is exceptional."
DeBoer elected to play with seven defensemen tonight, yet Schaefer still played 32:16, 12 minutes more than any other defenseman.
