A collective sigh of relief for the Islanders as Bo Horvat avoids serious injury.
The New York Islanders and their fan base held their breath when forward Bo Horvat hobbled down the tunnel on Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
Islanders' Bo Horvat Leaves Game vs. Ducks With Lower-Body Injury
Leading scorer Bo Horvat's night ended early with a concerning lower-body injury in the second period. The Islanders face uncertainty without their offensive catalyst.
Then they took a breath when head coach Patrick Roy shared that Horvat was day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
While there was no official update on Horvat's status on Friday, an optional skate in which Horvat didn't partake, I'm told that he avoided any structural damage.
As for a timeline, those can be tricky. It doesn't appear, as of this moment, that Horvat will be out long-term. The initial timeline appears to be 1-3 weeks. As we've seen with other injured players this season, the Islanders will take their time with Horvat, making sure he's 100% ready before returning to game action.
Horvat, 30, has 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 32 games played this season. His 19 goals lead the Islanders.
The Islanders welcome forward Jonathan Drouin back to the lineup on Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning, eying first place in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.