Bo Horvat waited nearly six years to collect his second career hat trick on Thursday night, when he helped the New York Islanders avoid a far less noble bit of history.
The Islanders will look to build on the momentum of their first win Saturday afternoon, when they visit the Ottawa Senators in a battle of Eastern Conference rivals.
Both teams were off Friday after earning come-from-behind victories at home Thursday. Horvat’s natural hat trick lifted the Islanders to a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers while the Senators outlasted the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in a shootout.
Horvat’s first hat trick since Oct. 22, 2019 allowed the Islanders to overcome a 2-1 second-period deficit and avoid going pointless through four games for the first time in franchise history.
The Islanders outshot the opposition in each of their first three games but led the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets for a grand total of 97 seconds. The Islanders trailed wire-to-wire in their first two home games against the Capitals and Jets.
New York was the last NHL team to collect a point and the next-to-last winless club. The San Jose Sharks were 0-1-2 entering Friday night’s game against the Utah Mammoth.
The two goals allowed Thursday were also a season low for the Islanders, who were outscored 13-7 in their first three games. Backup goalie David Rittich made 31 saves in his New York debut.
“We’ve been playing pretty good hockey, but obviously the results weren’t coming,” said Horvat, who capped the hat trick by tapping in an empty-netter with 8.1 seconds remaining. “For us to get that tonight in front of our fans definitely felt good.”
The first home win of the season was also badly needed for the Senators, who snapped a three-game losing streak in which they were outscored 18-7. Ottawa led for just 2:48 during the skid — all during Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the previously winless Buffalo Sabres.
The most costly defeat was a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators in the home opener Monday, when captain Brady Tkachuk suffered a right thumb injury that required surgery Thursday. Tkachuk, who has led the Senators in scoring in four of his seven NHL seasons, is expected to be out for six to eight weeks.
The Sens squandered a 2-1 first-period lead Thursday, when Chandler Stephenson scored twice for Seattle during a span of 17:35 bridging the second and third periods. But Dylan Cozens scored an extra attacker goal with 1:46 left before Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto netted goals in the shootout.
“This was a big one for us,” Pinto said. “Obviously you don’t want to go 1-4 (overall), especially 0-2 at home, so this was a big win. And hopefully we can keep it going.”
