February 26, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaeffer (48) celebrates with right fielder Simon Holmstrom (10) after scoring the second goal of Game 2 of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Image Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the game-winner at 1:46 of overtime as the visiting New York Islanders earned a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Pageau carried the puck up the left side for a partial breakaway, cut it to the front of the net, and then slid a backhand under Samuel Montembeault’s pad.
Matthew Schaefer scored twice for the Islanders, who have won their third straight game. Ilya Sorokin made 21 saves.
Noah Dobson scored twice against his former team and Samuel Montembo made 22 saves for the Canadiens, who have lost two of three goals (1-0-2) but extended their point streak to six (4-0-2).
Cole Caufield put Montreal ahead 3-2 at 9:11 of the third period. Juraj Slafkovsky’s shot from the right circle deflected off Ivan Demidov’s skate off the doorstep and flowed through Sorokin’s pad to the other end, where Caufield easily knocked it in.
With Sorokin drawing an extra striker, Anders Lee tied the score at 3-3. Bo Horvat fired a shot from the top of the slot that missed Lee’s front and went over Montembeault’s left arm at 18:19.
Dobson gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 12:11 of the first period. The defenseman, who was traded to Montreal in the offseason for forward Emil Heineman, carried the puck to the left circle and poked it past Sorokin to his glove side.
Dobson made it 2-0 on a power play at 10:06 of the second period. He received a feed from Aleksandr Texier in the center of the blue line and beat Sorokin on the screen as a slapshot blocker.
Schaefer scored twice in less than a minute late in the second to even the Islanders.
The rookie defenseman made it 2-1 on a 5-on-3 with a snap from the top of the slot at 17:56. Schaefer tied the score at 2-2 at 18:51, beating Montembeault on a screen inside the near post at the top of the right circle.
Schaefer’s second mark was his 18th of the season, and most by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history, passing Hall of Famer Phil Housley as the 2025 first overall pick.
–Field level media
