Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer sets NHL record for most single-game ice time by a teenager
It feels like every game Matthew Schaefer does something that’s never been done before, and that was certainly the case on Tuesday night.
While the New York Islanders found themselves on the losing end of their Tuesday night matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of 4-3, Schaefer set another NHL record, logging the most ice time in a single game by a teenager at 31:59.
While Islanders’ head coach Patrick Roy has sung Schaefer’s praises all season, the defenseman didn’t just get that much ice time because of Roy’s trust in him. The Islanders found themselves in desperate circumstances, particularly because Tony DeAngelo had left the game just 12 minutes in. The Islanders’ options on the blueline were further limited on occasion due to Adam Pelech’s two minor penalties, as well as New York running out of trusted options with Ryan Pulock out day-to-day and Alex Romanov missing most of the year.
As a result, Schaefer found himself on the ice for more than half the game, including 26:46 at even strength, 1:39 on the power play, and 1:19 on the penalty kill. According to Natural Stat Trick, Schaefer averaged 1:06 of ice time per shift, and had four long shifts and two extra long shifts.
With that, Schaefer sets the record for most ice time in a single game by a teenager. The previous record holder has yet to be verifiably confirmed, although ice time has only been officially tracked by the NHL since the 1997-98 season. Schaefer’s ice time is also the eighth-most in a game by any rookie, and is the fifth-highest total by any player this season.
Schaefer has put together an incredible season for a rookie defenseman, accumulating 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points in 72 games. That puts him in 11th among defensemen in points and second in goals, as well as third in rookie scoring.
However, the loss was a big one for the Islanders, as they were in the heat of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Their 40-27-5 record currently has them tied with the Ottawa Senators for the final playoff spot in the East, with the Senators holding the tiebreaker in both games played and regulation wins.
The Isles will look to bounce back quickly, as they host the Dallas Stars on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.