During the New York Islanders 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, the two teams upped their physical presence. Both got caught in high-profile skirmishes, one of which resulted after Islanders phenom Matthew Schaefer got decked by Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov. 

After Zadorov took his shots, captain Anders Lee jumped in for his defenseman, leading to a full-scale altercation between the two teams. 

Players, of course, will stick up for their teammates in situations like that, but it’s been especially important to protect their first-overall pick from this year’s draft. Most notably on Oct. 23 against the Detroit Red Wings, there were a handful of instances where Schaefer was the target of occasional jabs. However, not only did he stand his own ground, but his teammates again stood up for him at the final buzzer. 

Here's what Schaefer had to say about the Zadorov play:

Anders Lee: "I caught the end because I ended up getting the puck. Big man on our guy there and just one of those situations where you go in there and have his back."

Anthony Duclair:  "I just saw Big Z towering over him. Obviously, you want to protect your teammate, especially Schaef. We have each other's backs in this locker room. We're all brothers in here, and we're gonna do whatever it takes to protect each other."

Patrick Roy:  "I felt like the referee had a lot of choices. He could call a cross-check, could have called roughing, could have called interference. We might have been able to have a four-minute power play, isn't it? But I love how Duclair jumped in. I mean, the reaction of our guys, I mean, that's what you're looking for. They're a tight group. I mean, they back each other, and I'm proud of them for that."

Nikita Zadorov: "I looked at my penalty minutes from last year and I needed to get them up." 

Schaefer has had an outstanding start to his NHL career. The 18-year-old recorded an assist against the Bruins, bringing his season stats to five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games. As he continues to make his mark, that protection will be vital as word continues to get out about his performance to open his career.