It's All Incredible
Schaefer and Lee's heroics lead to another comeback win
After a long Olympic break, the Islanders finally stepped back on the ice for some big games on the schedule. And if there was any worry about rust, the Isles rattled off two very impressive come-from-behind victories vs the Canadiens and Blue Jackets. Former Islanders goalie Martin Biron of MSG Western NY joins Arthur and Sean to chat about the stretch run to the trade deadline and to the post-season!
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The word “incredible” has followed Matthew Schaefer around ever since Brendan Burke first attached it to him. It felt bold at the time. It feels understated now.
Since that adjective entered the Islanders’ orbit, the rookie hasn’t just lived up to it — he’s blown past it. Every night, it seems, fans are flipping through a mental thesaurus trying to keep up. Phenomenal. Remarkable. Ridiculous. Historic. None of it quite captures what an 18-year-old defenseman is doing, which is reshaping the trajectory of an entire franchise.
But here’s the twist after last night’s 5–4 stunner over the defending champion Florida Panthers: “incredible” doesn’t belong to Schaefer alone anymore. Because what unfolded at UBS Arena — and how it unfolded — deserves the same label.
Down 2–0. Again. For the third straight game. Again. And yet, no panic. No unraveling. Just that steady, stubborn, pesky Islanders' resilience that’s become expected, no matter how unlikely it should feel.
And then, with 32 seconds left, Anders Lee — the captain — skating in from center ice, earning a step on a defender and swooping in to beat Sergei Bobrovsky and stuff the game-winner in a most unlikely Anders Lee fashion.
Five straight wins now. Five straight since a rally bird briefly joined the lineup and apparently never left the vibes behind. You can laugh at that part if you want. But you can’t laugh at the results. The Isles are only the tenth team in NHL history to win three straight games after facing a multi-goal deficit in each.
It’s all been incredible.
