Bo Horvat leaves Islanders' win over Ducks with lower-body injury
The Islanders' Bo Horvat #14 controls the puck during the first period against Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks at UBS Arena on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Islanders have prospered despite injuries. But their resiliency may be tested much further depending on the severity of a lower-body injury to leading scorer Bo Horvat.
They topped the Pacific Division-leading Ducks, 5-2, on Thursday night at UBS Arena in the middle match of a three-game homestand with Anders Lee scoring two power-play goals in a four-point night.
The Islanders (18-11-3) have won five of their last six and four straight at home.
David Rittich stopped 31 shots while Ville Husso made 32 saves for the Ducks (19-11-1), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
But Horvat limped off the ice, keeping weight off his left leg and immediately retreated to the Islanders’ room at 6:52 of the second period. His left ankle appeared to bend awkwardly as he fell after getting his right skate caught with Drew Helleson. Horvat leads the Islanders with 19 goals and 31 points.
The Islanders, missing Kyle Palmieri (left knee) for the season, had just gotten Jean-Gabriel Pageau back for Tuesday’s 5-4 four-round shootout win over Las Vegas after he sat eight games with an upper-body injury.
Top-six wing Jonathan Drouin (lower body) missed his fifth game but participated in Thursday’s morning skate – his first time on ice with teammates since Dec. 4 – and coach Patrick Roy said he’s likely to play Saturday against the Lightning.
The Ducks closed to 3-2 on Troy Terry’s shorthanded goal at 2:37 of the third period but Simon Holmstrom, speeding around defenseman Olen Zellweger to tuck in a backhander at the right post, notched his second goal in two games after a 17-game goal drought to make it 4-2 at 6:06. Defenseman Ryan Pulock, with his first goal of the season, connected from the right point to make it 5-2 at 14:46.
The Islanders had built a 3-0 lead in the first period after 26-year-old rookie defenseman Travis Mitchell, coming off the bench and skating into the left circle, opened the scoring off the ricochet of defenseman Scott Mayfield’s shot off the endwall for his first NHL goal at 8:18. Lee, at the crease, tipped defenseman Tony DeAngelo’s shot for a 2-0 lead at 10:16 and then, from almost the same spot, shoveled in a backhander off another DeAngelo assist at 19:06 seconds after Rittich had stopped Frank Vatrano’s backhander on a shorthanded rush.
It was the first time the Islanders scored two power-play goals in a game since a 4-3 win over the visiting Sharks on Oct. 21. And it gave Lee 81 career power-play goals as he moved past Pat LaFontaine – who will be inducted into the Islanders’ Hall of Fame on Saturday – for eighth on the all-time Islanders’ list. His 297 career goals break a tie with Brock Nelson for fifth in Islanders’ history and Lee, playing in his 873rd game, moved past Hall of Famer Clark Gillies for fourth in franchise history.
Rittich ended the first period using his paddle to swipe the puck away from the goalmouth to deny Chris Kreider a scoring chance with 34.4 seconds remaining.
But Leo Carlsson broke through with a four-on-four goal to bring the Ducks within 3-1 at 5:34 of the second period after a hooking call on Anthony Duclair negated the Islanders’ third power play.
Notes & quotes: On Jewish Heritage Night, the Islanders introduced 97-year-old Holocaust survivor Edith Gross of Plainview during a first-period stoppage. Gross still frequently speaks to both students and corporate leaders about her experience…The Islanders improved to 6-0-0 against the Pacific Division…Forward Max Tsyplakov and defenseman Adam Boqvist remained healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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