The Hockey News Morning Skate: Islanders' Schaefer Bests Wild's Hughes, Cooley's Hometown Heroics, And More

Welcome to The Hockey News Morning Skate, where we give a quick recap of all the action from the NHL every weekday morning so you stay up to date.

82 goals were scored across Thursday's 11-game slate, with a ton of intriguing matchups to break down.

Let's run through the biggest storylines that emerged from the yesterday, and make sure to check out the video version of this story above.

Two of the best defensemen in the NHL faced off, with Matthew Schaefer and the New York Islanders hitting the road to take on Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild. The two blueliners did not disappoint, as Hughes picked up two points and Schafer finished with two goals and an assist, including the overtime winner that sealed a 4-3 victory.

Schaefer finished with a remarkable 30:01 of ice time, but the 19-year-old was outdone in that department by Hughes, who played 33:41. It was the fourth time Hughes has played over 30 minutes this season, and it was the second time for Schaefer.

Utah Mammoth star Logan Cooley picked up a hat trick on Thursday in front of his home crowd in Pittsburgh, scoring the third goal with less than a second remaining in regulation to force overtime against the Penguins. Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev went on to score the game-winner in the extra frame.

Cooley is now tied for the Mammoth lead in goals with seven and has 15 points in 14 games this year, putting him well on pace to surpass his career-high of 25 goals and 65 points.

The Buffalo Sabres squeaked out a 7-6 win over the Anaheim Ducks, nearly giving up a three-goal lead in the third period. The Ducks had the net empty for the last seven minutes of the third period and scored twice, but came up just short.

Tage Thompson picked up his 10th career hat trick in this game and finished with five points. He now leads the Sabres in goals (8) and points (15). Buffalo has a 6-4-3 record after this win and are seventh in the Atlantic Division.

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