Matthew Schaefer and Luke Hughes spent Nov. 7 showing that their games aren’t limited to clean exits and crisp puck movement.
The young defensemen from the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils mixed it up in a scrum late in the second period, with the Islanders holding a 4-2 lead at the time. Schaefer had already taken Hughes down earlier in the game, and the tension finally spilled over in a rare dustup between two players known more for skill than scraps.
The gloves stayed on, so neither man will get an official fight on the stat sheet. Still, Schaefer was the one who ended up putting Hughes on the ice after landing a flurry of punches.
The gloves were glued on but that’s not stopping Schaefer and Luke Hughes from CHUCKIN’ KNUCKS 🥊 pic.twitter.com/29pBRRor9r
Officials stepped in to break it up and sent Schaefer off before the second period expired. Logan Stanley and Brett Pesce also got involved, and the only penalty out of that exchange went to Stanley. Every other Islanders penalty was matched by a Devils penalty.
New Jersey, though, had the final say.
The Devils rallied in the third period, pushed the game to overtime, and then Jack Hughes finished it off with 3:42 left in OT, beating Ilya Sorokin’s blocker on a two-on-one rush for a 5-4 win. That result extended New Jersey’s winning streak to four games.
Afterward, Luke Hughes downplayed the altercation with Schaefer.
"I don't know. I think he just had my visor and then we just started.
It doesn't really matter. Hockey is an emotional sport and I wouldn't call that a fight at all because neither of us had our gloves off.
But it's a part of the game and we're two competitive guys," Hughes said postgame to the media on his altercation with Schaefer.
Schaefer gave a similar read on the moment.
"I think it was kind of just roughing up a bit; just kind of grabbing each other," Schaefer also said postgame. "I think it just kind of happened."
The loss dropped the Islanders to 7-6-3 on the season, but the reaction from inside the room suggested Schaefer’s willingness to engage didn’t go unnoticed.
"I knew Schaef had it him. What a beauty," Victor Eklund had said.
The Islanders are back on the ice Nov. 8 against the San Jose Sharks, who enter at 7-11-1.
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For New Jersey, it was the kind of complete performance that can expose where an opponent is still searching for answers. For Toronto, the concern is less about one bad night than the larger trend, especially with the team already trying to manage absences and keep pace in the standings. Matthews frustration was clear, and the message coming out of the locker room was just as plain, even if the fix is still a moving target. [Read more 🡒]