NY Islanders earn third straight win behind Matthew Schaefer's first multi-point game

The New York Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks 4–3 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, extending their winning streak to three games after an 0–3–0 start and restoring early-season footing that felt shaky a week ago.

Matthew Schaefer led the way again with a goal and an assist, becoming only the second defenseman in NHL history to open his career with a six-game point streak (joining Marek Zidlicky, 2003). He is also just the second Islander ever to do so, matching Bob Bourne in 1974. Schaefer is now tied with Bo Horvat for the team lead with seven points.

Horvat, Casey Cizikas, and Emil Heineman also scored for the Islanders, while Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves in arguably his sharpest outing of the young season. Collin Graf had a short-handed goal and assist for the Sharks, who fell to 0–4–2. Adam Gaudette and Macklin Celebrini also scored, and rookie Michael Misa recorded his first NHL point with an assist. Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves in the loss.

The Islanders erased an early deficit quickly — answering Graf’s short-handed opener in 57 seconds when Horvat scored on the power play. Cizikas and Heineman stretched the lead before Schaefer buried a feed from Anthony Duclair at 6:38 of the second to make it 4–2. Celebrini pulled San Jose within one in the third but the Islanders locked it down from there.

Beyond the numbers, this was the kind of win that tilts mood and meaning. The Islanders beat a team they needed to beat, got stars to produce when needed, and again rode an 18-year-old rookie who keeps erasing the line between hype and proof. Three straight wins don’t clinch anything — but they change everything about how this season feels.