Following the Islanders’ sweep of the Rangers n a home-and-home series that concluded on Thursday night, Matthew Schaefer added some juice with what he said in the aftermath for the Long Island side of what’s been a dead rivalry.

The 2025 number one overall pick scored the game-winner late in the second period of a Rangers’ 2-1 loss at MSG two days ago.

Early in the third period, Mika Zibanejad scored his 23rd with the Rangers on the power play to erase Ilya Sorokin’s bid for a shutout. He settled for winning his 18th game by finishing the game with 20 saves, including a couple of key ones on Gabe Perreault with the Rangers pressing for the equalizer.

When it was over, the 18-year-old Schaefer was front and center discussing the Islanders winning all four meetings by outscoring the Rangers 14-3 to sweep the season series.

“Getting drafted to this team, coming to play for the Islanders I know there’s that big rivalry. Like I said before, we want to beat them every time. We want to keep on doing that because I know it makes us happy, I know it makes our fans happy.”

Most eye-opening was Schaefer’s observation on the unique atmosphere in both arenas. Not shy with a camera in front of him, the Islanders defenseman said, “The building is full of both fans. It’s loud. Our fans are way louder than theirs. It’s pretty fun when we go on the board and our fans are cheering.”

Considering where the Islanders and Rangers are in the standings, it isn’t surprising that Schaefer noticed a difference in the fans. While his team is fighting hard to make the playoffs, the Rangers are now without their best three players, headed to a second consecutive year without the postseason. There’s been a lot more negative energy at MSG, where they don’t win as much. The Rangers have heard it from the crowd, with many being vocal about how they feel towards team president and general manager Chris Drury, who’s responsible for this mess.

The thing is that there hasn’t been a lot of juice to Rangers/Islanders in a while. Last season, it was all Blueshirts as they swept the Islanders by outscoring them by an even wider margin 23-5. That included a 9-2 laugher last Apr. 10 in the final meeting, which ultimately resulted in the Islanders winning the NHL lottery that led to them selecting Schaefer with the top pick.

Nobody could’ve predicted that he would come in and be able to take control of games at such a young age. The Hamilton, Ontario native scored his 14th goal in the Islanders’ recent win over the Rangers to move them into a tie in points (65) with the Penguins, who entered Saturday second in the division due to two less games played and two more regulation wins. Schaefer passed Bobby Orr for the most goals scored by an 18-year-old defenseman. He’s five shy of NHL record holder Phil Housley, who had 19 goals at the age of 19 as a Sabre in 1982-83.

NHL legend Denis Potvin still holds the franchise record for most goals scored by an Islanders rookie defenseman with 17 in 1973-74. Potvin was 20 years old when accomplished the feat to win the Calder Trophy. To this day, “Potvin Sucks!!!” is still chanted at MSG for his hit that broke Ulf Nilsson’s ankle in a game on Feb. 25, 1979. Potvin led the Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups as their captain.

When you see how Schaefer responds to questions after games, he has the colorful personality to become the next Islanders captain. Anders Lee has been their captain for quite some time. A proud veteran forward who’s in the final year of his contract, this could be it for the 35-year-old Lee, who recently hit the 300-goal mark in his career on Jan. 17. A former 40-goal scorer who’s had 20 goals or more in nine seasons, he’s been a good leader for the Islanders. After scoring 29 last year, he has 11 this season.

If they move on from Lee, the Islanders would have a decision to make moving forward. Schaefer won’t turn 19 until next September. It might be a bit premature to put a ‘C’ on his jersey due to increased pressure and expectations.

Look no further than what it’s done to J.T. Miller on the Manhattan side of the rivalry. He’s struggled to perform consistently, battling a recurring upper-body injury that limited his effectiveness during the first half.

On the one-year anniversary of the trade that brought him back to New York City for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a first round pick, he’s had an uneven season with 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 46 games. There have been instances when he didn’t hustle back defensively, which drew the ire of fans. A player who shoulders the load, he’s still at his locker afterward, with most of the questions focused on the Rangers’ lack of offense in losses that have piled up since both Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin went down.

Now, they continue to play without Artemi Panarin, who’s being held out of the lineup due to roster management reasons. If or when Drury can reach an agreement on a deal for Panarin, he still must sign an extension with the team he agrees to waive his no-movement clause for. Panarin isn’t the only player being shopped, with several teams reportedly interested in Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider.

With all of this happening before the Olympic break comes on Feb. 6, more changes could be in store for the Blueshirts, who are seriously lacking in identity. They were a flip of the coin away from landing a franchise altering player in Schaefer, who’s taken on a lot of responsibility for the Islanders.

With more losses likely over the final 36 games, they could find themselves picking in the top five of a deep draft class that features Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, Tynon Lawrence, and Chase Reid. Hopefully, they can hit on the right player and change their luck.

The next time they see Schaefer and the Islanders will be when the weather is a lot nicer than the icy chill that feels somewhat appropriate for this abject failure of a centennial anniversary. They desperately need their own version of Schaefer to bring something to these games. Otherwise, the transients who now attend home games will be even fewer in the future.