NY Islanders D Matthew Schaefer's wild night with Luke Hughes may spark new rivalry

The New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils already have plenty of reasons to dislike each other. Saturday night's 5-4 overtime thriller at UBS Arena might have added another chapter to that rivalry, courtesy of two of the NHL's more exciting young defensemen.

Matthew Schaefer and Luke Hughes went from trading punches late in the second period to finding themselves at the center of a controversial overtime finish that left the Isles furious.

With 32 seconds remaining in the second period, a scrum behind Ilya Sorokin's net escalated into an unlikely showdown between the 19-year-old Schaefer and 23-year-old Hughes.

Neither player dropped his gloves, but that didn't stop them from exchanging punches before Schaefer wrestled Hughes to the ice, sending the UBS Arena crowd into a frenzy.

It was an unusual display of aggression from two players better known for their skating and offensive creativity than their willingness to mix it up physically.

But the story wasn't finished.

After the Devils erased a 4-2 deficit in the third period, the two defensemen crossed paths again in overtime.

Hughes stripped Schaefer of the puck near the Devils' net, with the rookie appearing to be tripped in the process. No penalty was called, and Hughes moved the puck ahead to his brother Jack, who scored the game-winner just 1:18 into overtime.

"I think it's an obvious penalty," Simon Holmstrom said. "If you compare them to the other ones, I think it's pretty obvious. It is what it is."

"It could've gone both ways, but I thought I did [get tripped]," Schaefer said after the game. "But they could've seen otherwise." Schaefer broke his stick on Ilya Sorokin's net after Jack Hughes' game-winner. It was as frustrated as we've seen him on the ice during his young career.

The controversial ending only added to an already emotional night.

For Schaefer, who also scored his fifth goal of the season, it was another reminder that he's becoming one of the league's most compelling young personalities.

And with both defensemen potentially anchoring their respective blue lines for years, Saturday's fireworks could be remembered as the night a fascinating individual rivalry began.

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