Islanders 2, Stars 1: Schaefer ties Potvin in important win
Bo Horvat and Cal Ritchie scored to lift the Islanders to an ultra-important two points against the Dallas Stars.
ELMONT, NEW YORK - MARCH 26: Bo Horvat #14 of the New York Islanders is congratulated by Emil Heineman #51 and Matthew Schaefer #48 after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period at UBS Arena on March 26, 2026 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Steven Ryan/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images The New York Islanders needed this one after an extremely disappointing game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. There was some bad blood between the Islanders and the Stars after Mikko Rantanen knocked out Alexander Romanov for the season the last time these two teams played, but with Rantanen dealing with an injury of his own, that won’t be resolved this season.
Instead, Bo Horvat opened the scoring early and Cal Ritchie picked up the game winner early in the third, and of course Ilya Sorokin was instrumental in keeping the Islanders in the game even as the Dallas Stars had their chances. Matthew Schaefer’s two assists tonight further put him into legendary territory, as he scored his 53rd and 54th points of the season to pass Vladimir Malakhov’s 52 points as a rookie and tie Denis Potvin’s 54 to put him 2nd all time in rookie scoring for an Islanders defenseman. He only trails Stefan Persson, who scored 56 points in the 1977-78 season.
The scoreboard was also moderately kind to the Islanders: the Montreal Canadiens beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators went to a shootout that Pittsburgh won. All of that shakes out to the Islanders remaining in the second wild card spot for now, tied in points with Columbus but with an extra game played. [ NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick ] First Period Continuing the trend of the last few games, the Islanders were the more dangerous team to start early on.
Emil Heineman nearly opened the scoring, but it would be Bo Horvat who made it 1-0 five minutes in on the Islanders’ second shot of the game. Matthew Schaefer picked up an assist on the goal, bringing his point total to 53 on the season. View Link The Islanders went to the power play after Adam Erne was called for slashing Schaefer, but the biggest chance of the power play was a shorthanded one for the Stars that Ilya Sorokin made the save on.