By The Canadian Press

Schaefer scores in overtime to give Islanders 4-3 win over Maple Leafs

Jan 3, 2026 | 9:22 PM

NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Schaefer scored twice, including at 4:11 of overtime, and the New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday night.

Adam Pelech and Emil Heineman also scored, and Jonathan Drouin and Mathew Barzal each had two assists for the Islanders, who won for the second time in three games. David Rittich had 18 saves in his seventh straight start, with Ilya Sorokin dressing as the backup for the first time since Dec. 19.

Auston Matthews scored two goals for the Maple Leafs, setting his team’s franchise career record with 421 goals. Nicholas Robertson also scored and Joseph Woll finished with 21 saves.

In the extra period, Barzal found Schaefer all alone in the high slot and the 18-year-old rookie defenceman wired a shot past Woll for the win.

Matthews scored twice in the second period to move past Hall-of-Famer Mats Sundin for the franchise mark. His first tied Sundin at 420 when he beat Rittich at 9:30. He broke the record with his 20th of the season with 2:41 left in the period on a one-timer to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

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After Schaefer tied the score with 8:50 left in the third, Nicholas Roy set up Robertson for a go-ahead goal 1:02 later after a turnover by Heineman in the Islanders’ defensive zone.

The Swedish forward redeemed himself with the tying goal on a power play with 2:45 remaining in regulation, scoring on a one-timer off a feed from Barzal.

Pelech opened the scoring for the Islanders at 1:10 of the second period.

With the milestone, Matthews became the first United States-born player to lead a Canadian franchise in career goals and joined Mike Modano as one of the only U.S.-born players to hold a franchise goal-scoring record with a minimum of 50 goals.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Islanders: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/NHL

Scott Charles, The Associated Press