UPRISING: Mathew Barzal and Schaefer Form DYNAMIC DUO | Are They the NHL’s NEXT Great Pairing?

UPRISING: Mathew Barzal and Schaefer Form DYNAMIC DUO | Are They the NHL’s NEXT Great Pairing?

The New York Islanders held on for a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, but Matthew Schaefer had his first multi-point game and prove why he’s the future of this team. We’ve got all that and more on today’s Locked On Islanders podcast. You’re Locked On Islanders, your daily podcast on the New York Islanders, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. Welcome everybody to the Wednesday edition of the Locked On Islanders podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked On Islanders your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast so you never miss an episode. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. I’m Gil Martin. I’ve been covering the New York Islanders for almost two decades. And I wrote the book Ice Wars on the history of the Islanders rivalry with the Rangers from 1972 to the modern era. So glad you could join us today to talk a little Islanders hockey. We’ve got a busy show. The Islanders started sloppy but managed to escape with a 4-3 win over the Sharks. We’ll have our key takeaways, including why Matthew Schaefer just continues to prove how good he can be and how bright the Islanders future can be. We also have our weekly Farm and Prospects report and a little more news on the Allstar game sendoff. So, make sure you join us for all of that. Islanders four, Sharks three. And before I start digging into this game, I’m going to start with this. This is the third straight win for the Islanders. They are now back at 500 after the rather distressing 0 and3 start. Was this a pretty win? No. Did the Islanders play down to the competition for probably the first period plus? Absolutely. But in the NHL, they don’t ask how. They just ask how many. And ultimately, you take the win, you look for the good, and you bank it. And that’s what happened. And you know, right off the bat, it was frustrating because the Islanders did not look ready to play. The Sharks had what, eight of the first nine shots on goal in this game. And you’re at home, you’re trying to build on a twoame winning streak. Again, you’ve got to be ready from the drop of the puck. Look, the Sharks are a very young hockey team. They’re not a team without talent. They are filled with talent, but it’s talent that doesn’t have enough experience yet. And even though they are the only winless team in the NHL, you can’t take them lightly. And I’ll say this, if the Islanders played the way they did against the Sharks against most other NHL teams, they probably would have been behind two or three to nothing in this game. But at the end of the day, you take the win and you bank the points. And there were some very good signs from this game. Uh let’s start with Ilia Siroken. Yeah, he let in three goals, but I don’t think any of them were what I would call soft. He played good, not great, but ended up with a 917 save percentage. Came up with a few important saves, so that was very helpful. And I think the win on Saturday kind of built up his confidence a little bit and it was really good to see him get out there and and just play better hockey. And uh you know, is he where the Islanders need him to be if they’re going to go on some kind of a long winning streak? No, probably not. But is he playing better the last two games than he was earlier in the season. Absolutely. Anders Lee continues to impress a team high. Five shots on goal in this game. He picked up an assist and he just played solid hockey. I mean, again, outstanding, no, but good. Really good. and you know he made some passes and set up a couple of teammates, you know, in situations that could have paid off but ended up not paying off. So again, you take it and Casey Sikas first goal of the season. Fourth line is still struggling, but getting, you know, Sikas getting off the schneide, I’ll take it. uh only played a little more than seven minutes. Ciplov back in the lineup, only played six and a half minutes. Both Suzikus and Ciplov were minus one in this game. And yet, you know, Ciplov, did he do enough coming back into the lineup after sitting out the last two? I don’t think he showed a lot. No, no shots on goal, no hits, no block shots. There’s just not a lot that you could point to and say, “Yeah, I remember this play that Maxim Ciplov made.” So, we’ll see. But Simon Holmstrom played better. He doubled the ice time of Ciplov. Got moved up in the lineup toward the end of the game. played a little more than 13 minutes. But here’s the other two players who I really liked in this game. Bo Horvat, who scored another goal, and Amile Heinaman scored his third goal of the season. Think about that. Three goals in six games. Yeah, that’s a 41 goal pace. Do I have any illusions that Heineman is is going to keep this pace? No, absolutely not. But he’s doing the things you want to see him do. And that is, you know, he his goal came because he went to the net. And that’s exactly what you want to see. He is he’s got a good shot. He’s physical when he needs to be and you know his his goals are not always going to be pretty but boy do the Islanders need a player like that. Who led the Islanders in hits? You guessed it. Amil Heinaman. Six hits in this game and the Islanders you know don’t have enough physicality. Six hits for Heinman. four for Pacio, who I think also played a solid game. And it’s just encouraging to see this team uh overcome the slow start and end up with the win. Now, they were up four to2 after two periods. I love the way the Islanders came out in the third. They were aggressive. They didn’t take their foot off the gas, but they couldn’t score. They end up giving up a goal and then held on for dear life after the Sharks pulled their goalie at the end of the game. So, you know, a lot of reasons for encouragement, but still a lot to clean up. this team’s defense remains a train wreck and that, you know, they gave up too many shots, too many high danger chances and they need to be better defensively. There’s no way around it. Tony D’Angelo, you say what you want about him in the offensive zone, in the defensive zone, it’s not pretty. uh some foolish penalties taken along the way in this game, but the Sharks, you know, weren’t able to cash in. And again, you know, if you face a better team, it’s going to be problematic. Two penalties, for example, for Scott Mayfield, one for Jonathan Duan. Uh can’t give him those opportunities throughout the game. And again, Alexander Romanov, he was a game time decision. It was a nogo. Okay. But overall, this was a third straight win. That was encouraging, and I really like to see it. And now you’re back to 500. Where do you go from there is the the big question. One other note, uh, Michael Misa, who a lot of people wanted the Islanders to pick with the first overall draft choice this year, got his first NHL point in this game. This is only his third game. He hasn’t been good enough to be in the lineup every day yet. Don’t know. Uh, spoke to some people I know who cover and watch the Sharks. Don’t know if he’s going to stay in the NHL beyond the nine games. may go back to juniors, but congratulations to Misa on his first NHL assist. And uh he he’s going to be a good one. And I’m not going to sit here, even though I was more in favor of Schaefer than Misa. I’m not going to sit here and say, “Oh yeah, oh yeah.” Uh you could see how right I was to say Schaefer was the better pick. Yes. through the first six games of the season. Schaefer’s looking great and Misa is still got a bigger learning curve. But get back to me in three, four, five years when both of these kids have matured and we’ll see where they’re both at. Schaefer is definitely off to the better start, but we don’t know what these two players ultimately will become. But I don’t think there are too many Islander fans complaining about Matthew Schaefer. Speaking of Matthew Schaefer, we’re going to talk a little bit more about him, some of the records he’s setting as he keeps on being productive. We’ll have our weekly farm and prospect report. And for our Islanders birthday of the day, a Slovakian winger with a lot of speed who was with the Islanders in the mid 2000s. We’ll talk about him and his impact on the team. All that and a lot more coming up on today’s Locked on Islanders podcast. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch. Let’s be honest, most of us can’t even name all our financial accounts, let alone what they’re worth. Between 401ks, savings, and investments, it’s easy to lose track, and that can mean leaving money on the table. That’s why I started using Monarch. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or your phone. Monarch’s visual dashboards and smart tools make it so much easier to understand where my money’s going and how to make it work harder for me. And I love the fact that if you share accounts with a significant other, both of you can stay on the same page by using Monarch. So don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code locked on NHL at monarch.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarch.com code locked on NHL for half off your first year. Today’s episode is also brought to you by Rouette. Let’s be real, making excuses doesn’t solve anything. We’ve all heard them before. It’s just stress. I’m tired. Or it happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that’s where Rouette comes in. rouette.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. And look, you just connect with a boardcertified doctor, 100% online, no awkward waiting rooms, no in-person appointments, and if prescribed, your treatment ships discreetly straight to your door. The process is fast, simple, and private. And it’s all handled by real doctors. It’s about confidence, connection, and getting back to the moments that matter. Visit rugg.com/locktonnhl to get 15% off your first order. That’s rugg.com/lockton NHL. And don’t forget to use our code locked on NHL so they know we sent you. Rouette, stop making excuses and start making moves. Matthew Schaefer, a goal and an assist. His first multi-point game. He has seven points in six games. And he became the only the second rookie defenseman to score in six straight games, which is really, really impressive. And the more I see this kid look, I’m not going to deny it. He still is making some mistakes in his own zone. The way he positions his stick, the angles that he takes, some of the passes or moves that he attempts when trying to skate the puck out of the zone. And there are occasionally times when he is overpowered by a bigger, stronger forward who is going to give him issues. And by the way, kudos to Scott Mayfield who when Ryan Reeves gave a little extra push, a little zets to uh Schaefer at the end of the second period, there was Mayfield right in Reeves’s face. That’s exactly what you need to see. Whether it’s Mayfield or some other player who’s on the ice with Schaefer, if somebody goes after Schaefer, there has to be a response from the Islanders. I was glad to see it. But what this kid can do with the puck. The goal he scored was such a smart play. He used his speed. He joined the rush. He carried the puck in. And when he passed it, instead of dropping back, he looked at the situation and went to the net and the puck ended up coming back to him on a rebound and he put it home. Both of his goals so far this season have come on rebounds and and that’s not necessarily what you expect from a defenseman. and the fact that he did, you know, is is not only capable of doing it, but has the hockey IQ to do it. The two things that make Matthew Schaefer so good so fast after just six NHL games, his skating ability and his hockey IQ. He sees the ice. He knows where to go to make plays and not every 18-year-old kid knows how to do that. So again, is he going to keep up this pace of like 92 points that he’s on pace for right now? I highly highly doubt it. But if this is how he’s playing this soon, think about 2, three, five years down the road when he has more experience, puts on more muscle, which if you were watching the game on TV and saw the interview with Shannon Hogan in between periods, he admitted he’s got to put on more muscle when she asked him, “Hey, guys are going to take shots at you.” And it’s a process. It’ll take time, but he’s so mature and the the hockey IQ and the skating together are absolutely dynamic and that’s what makes him so effective at this early stage in his career. And I’ll take it a step further and I think this is indeed important. We saw in this game several times Matthew Barzal and Matthew Schaefer working together to move the puck up the ice and make create chances, create offensive opportunities. For Matthew Barzal, the addition of Schaefer is huge because the Islanders did not have another player who could skate with Barzy. Schaefer can. And this is going to help the Islanders. I can’t wait for the first overtime game. And if Patrick Wah is smart, he’ll put out Schaefer and Barzal and whoever the third person is in overtime because with all that open ice and all that space, these two guys can be dynamic and I really want to see them play that style. I I I think as Schaefer matures and and and gets even more comfortable playing in the NHL, he and Barzal can bring out the best in each other and create opportunities that this team has not seen in a long time. We always Islander fans, everydayers, you know, we always dreaded overtime. Why? because the other team had more fast players and more skilled players than the Islanders did. And so it’s one of those things that you just, you know, oh, I hope we can hang on and somehow win the game. Well, guess what? Now you’ve got two guys who can skate circles around a lot of players in this league. And I want to see the chemistry between Schaefer and Barzy develop. That’s the two Matthews. And I I I want to see it. I want to see it. I can’t wait to see it. And so far so good. One other note, by the way, before we uh get to our prospect report. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reporting that the NHL has cancelled the Olympic sendoff event at UBS Arena that was supposed to take place before the Olympics this winter. Instead, the Islanders will host the 2027 NHL Allstar game, which will go back to the old Allstar format with the skills competition. I would have preferred a foreign nation style kind of a thing. The to me the sendoff was a formality. It was a crumb that the league was giving the Islanders. Hey, you you didn’t you’re not going to host the All-Star game. We’ll give you this. I don’t mind the cancellation. I’ll take the All-Star game. I guess you lost an All-Star game, you gain one. It’s just a year later. That’s fine. But I really would have preferred a four nations style uh or you know uh tournament where the Islanders could have hosted several games and that would have been ideal. But no complaints. We got an All-Star game. It’ll be a year later. That’ll give ownership time to build their, you know, finish their hotels and their mall and everything else. And uh we’ll still see some of the greatest players in the game coming to the island. Still more to get to on today’s show. Our prospect and farm report coming up, plus our Islanders birthday of the day. All that and a lot more on today’s Locked Islanders podcast. Today’s episode is brought to you by your friends at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer that you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and you’ll get $300 in bonus bets if that first $5 bet wins. That’s right. Pick a bet. Put down five bucks and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love how FanDuel gives me so many ways to play. I’ve built parlays to increase my odds. I’ve tried player props and I’ve even followed the live lines during games. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. So whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Again, place that first $5 bet and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets. vanul.com. Check it out today. So, it’s time for our weekly farm and prospect report. Let’s start in Bridgeport where the momentum from the solid start got derailed a bit over the past week. their first game last weekend. They fell to the Providence Bruins by a score of five-3. Bridgeport giving up three power play goals in that one. Alex Jeff did get uh uh uh made a nice play to set up Cal Richie who scored his first career AHL goal and that was in his first game with the team. So that was definitely exciting. Matthew Majio ended up with a one-timer. So, there were some bright spots, but a five to3 loss. And then the next night against the Wilts Spar, Grant, and Penguins, the Islanders lose by a score of six-3. They were in their throwback Sound Tigers jerseys. And uh the Islanders were up 3 nothing and gave up six goals in a 17minute span to fall in this one. And uh look, it was a a a great goal by Adam Beckman to get things started. And uh Cal Richie sets up Beckman to make it two to nothing. And then Hunter Drew scores on the pass from Mio. That’s 3 nothing. And then the bottom falls out and they give up six straight goals. So that’s not good. Right now Bridgeport four games into the season, one two and one. They are in fifth place in the Atlantic division and uh got to get back on track. Marshall Warren leading the team with five points, two goals, three assists. Hunter Drew now after a strong week, two goals and two assists. So, he has four points. And again, by the way, for all our prospect uh our weekly prospect and farm reports, Joshua, thank you again for uh your help in creating this. Matthew Himmore, four assists on the season. Jeff, a goal and two assists. Mio a goal and two assists. Cal Richie in two games has a goal and an assist and is a plus two. The schedule for the upcoming week, well, basically speaking, Friday night, two road games this weekend. Friday night in Hartford against the Hartford Wolfpack. That’s the Rangers AHL team. And then Sunday at 3:00 Eastern time in the afternoon, uh they’ll be in Providence to take on the Bruins. Both games can be seen on Islander uh on AHL TV. Meanwhile, uh as far as some of the non AHL prospects, uh Cole Eisermanman only had one assist this week. I’ll put only in air quotes. He’s still got five goals and seven points in five games. And you know, we’re getting Camille Bederk had a goal. He’s got three points in five games, one goal, two assists, a goal for Quinn Finley this week. He’s got two goals and three points in four games over at the University of Wisconsin. Uh, and a good week also for Danny Nelson with a goal and an assist. He’s got two points now in four games for the season. and Burke Hood uh gave up only three goals in two games and had a 957 save percentage, won both of his games. He doing very well for the Vancouver Giants out west. So things looking up on the farm and and uh in the prospect pool. We finally have some players that we really want to keep an eye on right now and that is very encouraging. Time now for our Islanders birthday of the day. And today is the 51st birthday of former Islanders winger Miro Chitan. The Slovakian native, 61, 195 pounds, a fifth round pick of the Oilers back in 1993. Made his debut in the NHL in with Edmonton in 9596. Then played for Buffalo and joined the Islanders for the 0506 season. had 35 goals and 66 points that year, 27 goals the following year. Then his production fell off to 16 goals and 41 points in 0708. He won the cup with the Penguins in 0809. Played for the Bruins in 2009 2010 and then returned to Europe to close out his career. Chitan fast and dangerous with the puck. Played in 1,50 NHL games, 363 goals, 735 points, 464 penalty minutes, add 21 goals and 54 points in 86 playoff games. Five of those games with the Islanders, he had a goal and two assists. His best game as an Islander, February 4th, 2006. Islanders visiting the Penguins. The Islanders go with Rick D. Petro, Mark Andre Flurry, the goalie for Pittsburgh. And in this game, Miro Chatan or Islanders birthday of the day with Rick Jackman in the box for crosschecking. He scores on the power play. Trent Hunter and Brent Soapul with the assists. After Sydney Crosby ties it for Pittsburgh, Chitan again on the power play. This time, Ryan Whitney in the box. Mike York and Brent Soapel with the assists. And in the second period again on the power play, the uh Mark Reky in the box, Chatan from Joel Buchard and Mike York. He completes the hat-tick and the Islanders go on to a five to four victory for Chatan. The three goals on five shots. All three came on the power play. He was on the ice for a little more than 19 minutes. 40 saves for Rick Dietro in this game. But Miro Shatan had seven career hat tricks, but this was the only one he had as an Islander. Miro Shatan is our Islanders birthday of the day. Thank you for making locked on Islanders your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the allnew Locked on NHL game night. every game, every night until a Stanley Cup champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. You could find NHL game night on Locked on NHL, on YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. If you have a question, a comment, maybe a topic you’d like us to discuss on a future episode, email us at lockedon [email protected]. If you leave your first name and where you’re from, we’re happy to mention you on the show when we discuss whatever’s on your mind. You could follow the show on X at Locked on Isles. You could follow me, Gil Martin, on X at Ice Wars, NYRVSNY. We’ll keep you up to date on all things Islanders all year long. And I am live tweeting during nearly every Islanders home and road game. So join me for some instant insight and analysis. And it’s great to talk Island Islanders hockey with you. Game time or anytime. Everydayers, we are back tomorrow. We will preview the game against the Detroit Red Wings Thursday as the Islanders head back on the road. Hopefully, we’ll get an update on Alexander Romanov and we’ll have all the Islanders latest news, notes, and happenings. Until then, have a great day everybody. Stay safe and of course, let’s go Islanders.

Islanders stun Sharks 4-3. Is this the turning point for their season?

Gil Martin breaks down New York’s clutch victory, highlighting Matthew Schaefer’s breakout performance and the team’s evolving strategy. The discussion covers Anders Lee’s contributions, Ilya Sorokin’s crucial saves, and how recent roster moves are reshaping the Islanders’ playoff chances. Key topics include New York’s defensive improvements, Mathew Barzal’s chemistry with Schaefer, and some more issues on defense.

Don’t miss this in-depth analysis of the New York Islanders’ path to success, including a special birthday tribute to former winger Miro Satan and exciting updates on the team’s top prospects.

All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.

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