At PPG Paints Arena, Matthew Schaefer, along with his teammate Maxim Shabanov, did the traditional solo skate before his NHL debut.Despite the 4-3 loss of the New York Islanders against Pittsburgh, the 18-year-old showed his worth.Schaefer, selected in the draft, didn’t take long to show why the Islanders wanted him. At 12 minutes into the game, he had already gotten his first point, assisting Jonathan Drouin.Drouin’s shot beat Penguins’ goalie Tristan Jarry, tying the score.
With family and friends present, Schaefer admitted nervousness at first, but was not intimidated by figures like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.Although Schaefer doesn’t have the same expectations as Crosby, he understands the importance of his arrival for a team looking to advance in the Metropolitan Division.Schaefer lamented the result, even though the Islanders dominated the game and had 38 shots on goal.The team showed speed and determination, with the hope that this will be a role model, including the young player.”I think we gave it our all tonight,” Schaefer said. “I wish we had won. I hate losing. Now we know and we will learn from it to focus on the next game. But I think it was a great first game for us. I just wish we had won.”“I think it was very good. It was good in the end. Throwing pucks at the net. I thought he looked very comfortable, very confident. So I’m very happy with him,” Roy said.
Patrick Roy
