Bo Horvat knows he's not giving Islanders what they need
![Bo Horvat of the Islanders skates against Sebastian Aho of the Hurricanes in...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AMTU4ODZhNTUtNDQwMS00%3ANTUtNDQwMS00NjI3YTFh%2Fspisles230424.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Bo Horvat of the Islanders skates against Sebastian Aho of the Hurricanes in Game 4 of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at UBS Arena on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Bo Horvat knows what’s expected of him.
And Bo knows he’s not giving the Islanders what they need.
“I think I can be a lot better, to be honest with you,” Horvat said after the Islanders lost to the Hurricanes, 5-2, in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena. They trail 3-1 in the series.
“I think I’m doing a lot of good things away from the puck and winning my faceoffs and doing all that kind of stuff,’’ said Horvat, who won 14 of 22 faceoffs (64%). “But at the end of the day, I’ve got to find ways to score big goals or get on the scoresheet not in a 5-2 game. I’ve got to find ways to make it meaningful. I’ve got to be better.”
Horvat notched his first point of the series on a shorthanded breakaway to cap the scoring at 17:57 of the third period. It was his lone shot in 17:02 of ice time.
Horvat’s top line with Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee has a combined three goals and no assists in the series. All three are on the first power-play unit and the Islanders are 1-for-12 in the series.
“We’ve been doing a lot of good things, but I think there’s been a lot of perimeter stuff,” Horvat said. “I think we can get to the blue paint a little bit more and maybe not try to be as fancy and try to get more pucks and bodies to the net. I just don’t think we’re creating enough havoc there sometimes.”
Barzal returned for Game 1 of this series after missing the final 23 games of the regular season with a knee injury.
Long streak ends
Sunday’s defeat marked the first time the Isles lost a home playoff game by more than one goal since April 18, 2007, when they lost Game 4 of their first-round series to the Sabres, 4-2.
Game 4 against the Hurricanes marked the Islanders’ 26th home game since then. Before Sunday, all 11 losses in that span — with games being played at Nassau Coliseum, Barclays Center and UBS Arena — were by one goal.
Isles files
Defenseman Ryan Pulock had a team-high 24:44 of ice time. He also led the team with six shots on goal . . . Forwards Josh Bailey, Simon Holmstrom and Ross Johnston, defensemen Samuel Bolduc and Parker Wotherspoon and goalie Jakub Skarek remained healthy scratches . . . The Islanders will not practice on Monday before traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina . . . Goalie Frederik Andersen remained unavailable for the Hurricanes. He did not dress for Games 2 and 3 because of illness, but coach Rod Brind’Amour classified his Game 4 absence as injury-related. “He tweaked something the other day in the warmup,” Brind’Amour said. “I was expecting him to probably be able to go today. It’s nothing serious.”