Every indication from the brilliant start of No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer’s time with the Islanders is that he will play against the Rangers many, many, many times in his career. But Saturday night at Madison Square Garden was the 18-year-old’s first foray into the series.

So he can be forgiven for not quite grasping all of the nuances of the historically heated rivalry.

“Not really,” Schaefer said when asked if he’d been thinking about his first Islanders-Rangers match. “Every game is just a game, right? It’s obviously fun with rivalries and all that good stuff.”

Still, Schaefer said he understands the fans’ passion when it comes to Islanders-Rangers. He did experience something akin to it while playing junior hockey for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League against their

See Full Page