Bunker Hill Finds Silver Linings After Loss

Bunker Hill might be the last team you’d expect to feel grateful for a loss.

Matthew Schaefer was all set to debut in the highly anticipated Battle of New York on Saturday, but that didn’t quite pan out after the Islanders faced an embarrassing defeat. Let’s be honest—it’s a situation that would typically befall the Rangers, not the Islanders.

Historically, the Islanders have seen nine or more goals scored against them in a game 20 times, and April 10 marked the first occurrence in nearly 16 years. It’s hard to say if any franchise could be more thankful for a defeat that, frankly, left them humiliated in front of their home crowd.

Back then, I didn’t feel particularly grateful about losing 9-2 to the Rangers. The Islanders weren’t in tank mode, and understandably, they were pretty upset about the whole ordeal.

Both teams were on the brink of playoff qualification, but with this loss, the Islanders officially bowed out two days later in Philadelphia, and their record was—well, less than impressive.

With Ilya Sorokin sidelined due to injury, Marcus Hogberg started in goal but was pulled. He surprisingly managed to re-enter the game after Tristan Lennox, in his NHL debut, let in a goal on just his second shot. That moment was probably just as confusing for Lennox as it was for Patrick Roy.

The stands at UBS Arena were filled with Rangers fans who witnessed the Rangers dominate the season series against the Islanders for the first time since 2003-04.

Veteran players like Anders Lee, Adam Pelech, and Ryan Pulock delivered performances that many would consider among their worst.

“We played a horse-and-horse game,” Lee summed up the night, and honestly, that quote really captures the essence of it.

P.S. Both teams ended their seasons shortly after, with the Rangers finishing just three points ahead of the Islanders, 85 to 82.

Had the Islanders managed to avoid that loss, they would have ended up with 84 points, compared to the Rangers’ 83. Seems trivial at the time, right?

But it really wasn’t just a small matter. The Isles entered the draft lottery with a 3.5 percent chance, while the Rangers were at 3.0 percent. A significant fuss, indeed.

Those two lost points might have had a ripple effect on the future of New York hockey. The combination that got Schaefer (7-11-12-13) might have been the Rangers’ if things had gone differently.

Rather than focusing on their need for left-handed defensemen by bringing in Matthew Robertson to fill the third pairing, the Rangers are likely to field the current NHL Calder Trophy favorite.

(They could have sent a first-round pick in 2025 or 2026 to Vancouver for JT Miller, but I think team president Chris Drury would have kept this year’s pick without much hesitation once the lottery ball was drawn.)

Instead of starting his first general manager job with a No. 1 overall pick, Mathieu Darche now has to make do with the No. 12 overall pick. The Flyers, for instance, ended up with Jack Nesbitt thanks to the pick that was originally the Rangers’ before it swapped hands with Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

There’s a whole lot of turmoil surrounding the Islanders these days, I’d argue, and even their somewhat decent start of 6-6-2 wouldn’t make anyone too optimistic.

The connections Schaefer has already begun to establish with his Long Island fan base may have thrived better on Broadway.

The Islanders may have lost the Battle of New York, but the implications could linger until 2045.

In a strange way, they lost—and perhaps, they also won.