New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer had plenty of time to watch the replay of his first NHL goal.
Schaefer made a splash on Saturday when he faced the Washington Capitals in the second game of his pro career, scoring his first goal in a controversial play that took officials several minutes to confirm.
The tally came on a netfront scramble during a third-period power play: the puck ricocheted off Isles forward Bo Horvat into goaltender Logan Thompson’s pads before a diving Schaefer poked it into the net.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery challenged the goal for a hand pass, alleging that Horvat had pushed the puck into Thompson with his glove.
After an extended video review, officials decided that there was no hand pass: Schaefer’s milestone marker stood.
While Carbery appreciated the sentimentality of a player’s first NHL goal — and wasn’t too perturbed after the Caps’ 4-2 win — he stood by his decision to challenge.
“I know it’s the kid’s first goal — I’m convinced that’s a hand pass,” Carbery said. “No one touches it, and that should be coming back. But I understand, it’s 4-1 at the time, kid’s first goal, so they keep it on the board.”
The NHL posted an explanation of the call on its website, declaring that they determined that the puck had deflected off of Horvat’s arm, not his hand, so no hand pass occurred.
Thompson, like Carbery, took the decision in stride after the Capitals’ victory, joking with reporters when asked about his thoughts on the goal.
“Bullsh—t — no, I’m kidding,” he said with a grin.
He went on to take the blame for suggesting Carbery use a challenge before praising Schaefer’s tenacity on the play.
“Yeah, me and Johnny (John Carlson) thought it was a hand pass, so that was on me for telling Carbs to challenge it, unfortunately,” Thompson said. “I guess it wasn’t seen that way. That’s hockey. But yeah, credit for him for driving the paint there when it got a little rough. So credit to him, and he’s an exciting player. I’m excited to watch him.”
Schaefer, too, cracked a joke about the goal postgame, comparing it to something out of a movie.
“I think I’ve seen the exact same scene in Mighty Ducks or something, so trying to (reenact) that, I guess,” he said. “But no, no, it was good.”
Schaefer made his Islanders debut on Thursday to plenty of fanfare after going first overall in the 2025 draft. He became the eighth player in league history to play the first two games of his career against the NHL’s active points leader (Sidney Crosby) and all-time goals leader (Alex Ovechkin).
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy had high praise for Schaefer, who played a whopping 26:04 of ice time against Washington.
“He’s so good,” Roy said. “He was our best player out there tonight…He’s exciting to watch. If I’m a fan, I’ll pay to watch him play—there’s no doubt about it.”
Among those impressed by Schaefer’s talents is Thompson himself, though he admitted he’d hoped not to be the goalie to give up the defender’s first goal.
“He’s a good player. I was going in tonight hoping it wouldn’t be me,” he said, smiling. “But no, he skates unbelievable for how young he is, and he fits right in. I think he’s going to be a dominant player in this league for a while.”
The Capitals and Islanders will meet again later this month for a Halloween game at Capital One Arena.
