Matthew Schaefer takes playful Rangers jab at Henrik Lundqvist in hilarious interview moment

As if Matthew Schaefer couldn’t endear himself to Islanders fans even more than he already has, he goes out and does something else. 

The charismatic 18-year-old star chirped former Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist while appearing on the “NHL on TNT” because the ex-NHL goaltender — and Islanders antagonist — got the first question on air over Liam McHugh, a Long Island native. 

Schaefer appeared on TNT’s hockey studio show for an interview on Wednesday when Lundqvist, a hockey analyst for the network, proceeded to ask him what his “welcome to the NHL” moment was. 

“First off, it’s pretty tough to get a Ranger asking the first question over the Long Island native here,” Schaefer replied, leading to the studio crew to start laughing. “I’d rather the Long Island native ask me first, but I’ll let this one slide.” 

“The kid gets it, he understands,” McHugh joked right back, with analyst Paul Bissonnette chiming in, “Schaef daddy coming in hot.” 

Schaefer’s arrival on Long Island has coincided with a massive culture shift within the organization after ownership parted ways with longtime general manager Lou Lamoriello. 

That decision, along with the hiring of Mathieu Darche, has injected new life into the Islanders and allowed Schaefer’s personality to flourish in his rookie season. 

Schaefer has instantly become a star on and off the ice, with the young defenseman registering 11 points (five goals, six assists) through the first 13 games of his NHL career. 

The on-ice success has led to a bit of a target being put on the youngster’s back, which included an incident on Tuesday night during the Islanders’ shootout loss to the Bruins. 

Nikita Zadorov hit Schaefer up high, knocking him to the ice, when the two were mixing it up, leading to a bit of a melee with several Islanders teammates rushing in to help.