Matthew Schaefer backs up his words to lead Islanders to season sweep of Rangers
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Matthew Schaefer backs up his words to lead Islanders to season sweep of Rangers
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer #48 skates down the ice, Image 2 shows New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin #30 defends the net against New York Rangers center Noah Laba #42 during the first period, Image 3 shows New York Islanders right wing Max Shabanov (49) and New York Islanders center Kyle MacLean (32) celebrates the goal by New York Islanders defenseman Carson Soucy (4) against the New York Rangers during the second period at Madison Square Garden.
Ethan Sears
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4 min read
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Within an hour after being drafted by the Islanders, Matthew Schaefer declared in an interview with former "Entourage" star Kevin Connolly, "We're going to beat the Rangers every time we play them."
Schaefer's four-leg parlay cashed Thursday night, when he scored at Madison Square Garden to help the Islanders to a 2-1 defeat of the Rangers that marked their first time sweeping the season series since 2017-18.
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"Getting drafted to this team, coming to play for the Islanders, I know there's that big rivalry," Schaefer said inside a packed visitors locker room after the fact. "Every game from here on out's a playoff game, especially against the Rangers. It's a big win for us.
"Like I said before, we want to beat them every time, and we want to keep doing that because I know it makes us happy, I know it makes our fans happy, and we get two points out of it."
It's the third time in the history of the rivalry that the Islanders have swept the season series, having also done so in 2015-16. It's the first time they've won every game in regulation and the first time they've gone four full games against the Rangers without trailing.
New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer skates down ice during the first period on Jan. 29, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
That is sweet revenge after the Rangers swept the Islanders by a combined score of 23-5 a year ago, culminating in a 9-2 embarrassment at UBS Arena that marked a low point for the Isles.
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"I think we owed them one," captain Anders Lee said. "Last year didn't go our way. I think we evened it up."
Since then, it has been all Islanders, starting with the lottery balls dropping in perfect sequence for their 3.5 percent chance at winning the No. 1 overall pick, and the rights to draft Schaefer. Had they beaten the Rangers just once last season, the two teams' lottery odds would have been reversed, and he might have been skating for the other team Thursday.
Instead, Schaefer was making their lives miserable — and, in the latest ignominy in what has been a veritable parade of them for the Rangers, so too was Carson Soucy.
Soucy, who scored four goals in 62 games across parts of two seasons with the Blueshirtsbefore being traded to the Island this week, was not acknowledged on the scoreboard in his return to the Garden. He served up some revenge by lighting the lamp in his second game as an Islander, squirting a shot from the left point through Jonathan Quick's pads to open the scoring at 17:18 of the second period.
New York Islanders right wing Max Shabanov (49) and New York Islanders center Kyle MacLean (32) celebrate the goal by New York Islanders defenseman Carson Soucy (4) against the New York Rangers during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
On a night in which it was all too evident that both teams had played 24 hours prior, that seemed to give the Islanders a bit of a jolt. Schaefer's goal came under two minutes later, as the 18-year-old whipped in a shot that beat Quick short side through Simon Holmstrom's screen.
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His 14th goal of the season broke a tie with Bobby Orr for second on the all-time defenseman goal scoring list for 18-year-olds.
"Who's that?" Schaefer joked about Orr, who made his debut 41 years before he was born.
The Rangers did not merely lie down from there. Mika Zibanejad's one-timer from the left circle cut the lead to 2-1 early in the third period.
The game, which had been a dreary affair, creaked its way into life from there, and the Rangers were suddenly bearing down on Ilya Sorokin. The netminder twice stopped Gabe Perreault on grade A chances at the doorstep.
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin defends the net against New York Rangers center Noah Laba during the first period. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
"It's frustrating, for sure," said J.T. Miller, having been the victim of Sorokin on a second-period slot one-timer and having drawn iron in the game's opening minutes. "At some point, it's hard to come up with answers other than put the puck in the net more often."
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The Islanders, who kept pace with the Penguins to stay tied on points — though behind on percentage — for second in the Metro, simply have more to play for than their counterparts right now. The most interesting thing happening for the last-place Rangers is up in Chris Drury's box, as the team president and general manger tries to navigate a landing spot for Artemi Panarin.
On nights like this one, that seems to make all the difference.
"It was not our best game of the season, but that's what good teams do," coach Patrick Roy said. "They find ways to win."
