Islanders beat Sharks in OT on Bo Horvat's goal

SAN JOSE, Calif. — They weren’t exactly the new-look Islanders, even with key new piece Brayden Schenn in the lineup.

They struggled at times with the speed of the youthful Sharks. The offensive production was sluggish for a third straight game in the Golden State, particularly with their power play a toothless 0-for-3.

But the Islanders were able to move into second place in the Metropolitan Division and snap a two-game losing streak by relying on things they’ve done well all season.

They came up with a huge penalty kill bridging the end of regulation and the start of the extra period, and they remained perfect in nine overtimes.

Matthew Schaefer sprung Bo Horvat to the net for a goal with 39.6 seconds left in OT as the Islanders beat San Jose, 2-1, on Saturday night at SAP Center in Schenn’s debut.

Schenn logged 17:26 centering Ondrej Palat and rookie Cal Ritchie.

“He was awesome,” said Horvat, who scored his 27th goal. “He was laying the body, playing a role against the [Macklin] Celebrini line. He was phenomenal for us tonight. He’s such a presence on and off the ice.”

Schenn was acquired before Friday’s NHL trade deadline for first- and third-round picks, goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof and Jonathan Drouin.

Next up: Schenn returns to St. Louis for practice on Monday and to face his former team on Tuesday night as the Islanders conclude a four-game road trip.

“I’m not going to lie, I had a little bit of nerves for the first time in a long, long time,” said Schenn, 34, who is in his 17th NHL season. “New surroundings. New team.

“I’m excited to be here and be a part of this group. You can really tell it’s a special group of guys that play for one another, and that’s how you win hockey games. They’re all not flashy and pretty, and that’s what it looked like tonight. We gutted it out.”

The Islanders (36-23-5), who have won nine of their last 13 games, moved one point ahead of the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division (Pittsburgh has played two fewer games).

But that was not as important to the Islanders as just getting a win.

Wednesday’s trip-opening 5-1 loss to the Ducks and a 5-3 loss to the Kings the next night were as bad as the scores indicated. This one was better.

“Yeah, massive,” said Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who agreed to a three-year, $14.55 million extension on Friday shortly after Schenn was acquired. “I thought we had a better start right away. And we put a lot of focus on that. The last five games, we’ve been having slow starts. Yes, we were able to come back in some of them, but I think we pushed our luck. I thought we played a solid game all around.”

Goalie Ilya Sorokin, who struggled against the Kings, looked like the best version of himself in making 30 saves. That included a stick save on Will Smith’s power-play chance near the left post with 39.4 seconds left in regulation. Defenseman Adam Pelech had been called for holding Kiefer Sherwood at 18:32 of the third period.

The Islanders, who had trouble getting the puck deep during the first 40 minutes, started getting pucks to goalie Yaroslav Askarov’s crease in the third period.

Schenn did look comfortable from the opening faceoff, which he won against Celebrini. Palat and Ritchie, who had been centering the second line until Schenn’s arrival, had noticeable jump up ice.

Schenn also showed his physical side, plastering defenseman Mario Ferraro along the wall in the Islanders’ zone late in the first period. He established position at the crease to help screen Askarov (32 saves) on defenseman Tony DeAngelo’s wrist shot through traffic for a 1-0 lead at 11:37 of the first period after Ritchie’s rush set up the sequence.

But Schenn’s line also was on the ice as Celebrini, open in the left circle, tied it 33 seconds into the second period on a rising wrister. Schenn could not get to Celebrini in time to make up for his linemates’ defensive miscue. It was Celebrini’s 32nd goal.

“New system, new linemates. Do I think I had my ‘A’ game? No,” Schenn said. “But I just tried to buy into the team’s system and do whatever they asked me to do.

“I feel like I have more offensively to give. But at the same time, I’m just happy to be part of a win. It’s a special group that you can tell has a belief in here.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.