Bo Horvat transitioned smoothly to the New York Islanders in the four games since his trade. But the Islanders went 2-1-1 and must improve to make the playoffs.
Bo Horvat transitioned smoothly to the New York Islanders in the four games since his trade. But the Islanders went 2-1-1 and must improve to make the playoffs.
Bo Horvat has fit in seamlessly with the New York Islanders.
Horvat — who signed an eight-year $68-million contract extension last Sunday — hasn’t skipped a beat since joining the Isles, continuing to produce at a career-high pace.
“He’s such a solid player, up and down the ice," said Islanders captain Anders Lee. "He can do it all. He’s one of the best bumper guys in the league. He’s got great hands and a great shot. Him coming into our room really solidifies so much for our forward group.”
Through his first four games donning blue and orange, Horvat has recorded four points while leading the team in goals (three), shots (15), scoring chances (18) and individual expected goals (2.2) through that span, according to Natural Stat Trick. Horvat anchors an extremely effective first line with Mat Barzal and Josh Bailey on his wings — the trio has posted a 60-percent rating in expected goals-for and Corsi-for so far, according to moneypuck.com.
“He fits in nicely with those two guys, and when they’re on the ice, they’re creating opportunities – there’s no question about it,” said Isles coach Lane Lambert.
Plus, New York’s abysmal power play (27th) has gone 4-for-9 since Horvat arrived. His 12 power-play goals rank him ninth league-wide.
“Obviously it’s part of why I’m here, to try to spark it a little bit,” Horvat said of the power play. “I don’t know if they needed me or not, but they’re snapping it around pretty good.”
But Horvat can only do so much. The Islanders’ deficiencies stretch beyond the voids Horvat was enlisted to fill. That much became apparent over New York’s last two contests, with the Isles walking away with one out of four available points against lottery teams in Vancouver and Montreal.
Against Montreal on Saturday, the Islanders blew two third-period leads before losing in overtime. The dagger came after Mike Hoffman sprung free on a breakaway fresh out of the penalty box, and Mike Matheson buried the rebound.
Lambert was asked post-game if the goal was a byproduct of a bit of situational awareness.
“It’s a lot (of a) bit of situational awareness,” Lambert said.
With less than three weeks to go until the 2023 trade deadline, the Islanders have a 16.5-percent chance of making the playoffs, according to moneypuck.com. They’re just one point out of a wild-card spot, but the teams ahead of them have games in hand. The Washington Capitals are two points ahead with two games in hand, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are one point ahead with four games in hand.
While they check a lot of boxes — with a world-class goaltender in Ilya Sorokin and a fourth-place penalty kill — New York’s shortcomings are debilitating.
Their goal-scoring troubles aren’t just on the power play, with the Islanders averaging just 2.89 goals-for per game, 25th in the NHL. Their defensive zone coverage has also been a mess, with the Islanders allowing the eighth most 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 minutes in the league (2.79), per Natural Stat Trick. And their three losses after leading the first two periods are tied for the most in the league.
Now, the team has some money to play with — CapFriendly projects their deadline cap space to be a hair above $8.6 million. But it’s hard to chart out what kind of additions they should make, let alone what they can and can’t afford.
The question for the Islanders is if it is really worth it to go all in this year. It doesn’t seem like it’d be in Lou Lamoriello’s DNA to start selling, especially after getting Horvat and signing him. And with the Islanders seemingly having a finite window to contend — Lamoriello may feel inclined to give this group every possible shot to squeak into the playoffs.
If, and this is a big if, the Islanders were to squeak in — they certainly could be a sleeper candidate to pull off an upset in Round 1. Their game is suited for the post-season, and adding Horvat to the equation makes them a much different team up front.
But is it really realistic to approach the deadline based on gut feeling and ignore the teams’ current state?
That’s for Lamoriello to decide.