3 Takeaways: Isles Shut Out Kraken 4-0 in Horvat's Home Debut

UBS Arena was buzzing on Tuesday night with loud ovations for three reasons: Bo Horvat's first goal as an Islander, Ilya Sorokin's stellar 31-save shutout, but most importantly, the Islanders' fourth consecutive win.
Nine Islanders hit the scoresheet in an explosive 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken in the Isles first four-game winning streak since Nov. 21-26. Samuel Bolduc, Simon Holmstrom, Zach Parise and Horvat all found the back of the net, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a multi-point performance with a pair of assists. Ilya Sorokin turned away all 31 Kraken shots for his second consecutive shutout, fifth of the season and 15th of his career.

"Everybody is excited," Horvat said following the win. "Everyone has been buying in defensively and it's just leading to our offensive chances. We got to continue to keep doing that. We got some tough games coming up and against some good teams."
The Islanders were effectively able to shut down the Kraken, who have a track record of success on the road, ranking fourth in the NHL in road wins and completing a seven-game road sweep in January.
After an offensive drought persisting through the month of January, the Islanders broke open the scoring with their first four-goal performance since Jan. 3. The four-goal output ended a streak of eight-straight games with two or fewer goals for the Islanders. The Islanders have only allowed two total goals on their four-game winning streak.

HORVAT MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME:

Bo Horvat wore the home blue for the Islanders for the first time on Tuesday night, playing in front of a roaring crowd of fans excited for his home ice debut.
The Islanders' newest acquisition brought his best to his new home, taking a direct feed from Mathew Barzal and ripping it past Martin Jones in the second period to bury the fourth goal of the game for the Isles. Multiple "Hor-vat! Hor-vat!" chants erupted at UBS Arena, cheering for Horvat's first goal as an Islander and again for him as he was named the first star of the game.
"It was pretty amazing," Horvat said. "I haven't had a chant like that in a building that loud. It was an amazing welcome. Definitely felt good to get it in the first game."

It's only been two games, but the chemistry is building between the line combination of Barzal, Horvat and Josh Bailey.
"Those two are real high IQ players," Barzal said of Horvat and Bailey. "But I think [Horvat] can do everything, he can dish, he can score, forechecks hard and wins battles. Those things are huge."
The goal also set a career-high for Horvat, who has 32 goals on the season.
"That made it that much sweeter," Horvat said of hitting the personal best. "Definitely feels good to get that one. Everyone had some pretty good chances again tonight. We're going to keep the ball rolling."

SAM BOLDUC BURIES FIRST CAREER GOAL, POINT

Samuel Bolduc set the tone for the Islanders 4-0 victory, opening the scoring and simultaneously burying his first NHL goal.
ISLANDERS 4, KRAKEN 0
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
Gamecenter
Rapid Recap
ISLES-KRAKEN VIDEO
Full Highlights
Postgame: Lambert
Postgame: Barzal
Postgame: Horvat
Postgame: Bolduc
Postgame: Parise
KINGER'S CALLS
Bolduc's First Goal
Simon Hits a Holm Run
Parise's Deflection
Horvat's First as an Islander
"It feels amazing," Bolduc said. "It's something I'll never forget, especially at home with all of the fans behind you."
"Everyone in this room has been in that spot," Zach Parise said of the young defenseman's first career NHL goal. "You get excited as a player but then as a teammate. I thought he's been playing really well."
Bolduc sniped a long shot from the point through traffic to beat Jones, which Barzal said sparked the Islanders. Aside from his offensive contributions, Bolduc's defensive effort grabbed the attention of Head Coach Lane Lambert.
"He sees the ice [and] he has vision," Lambert said of Bolduc's performance. "He made a number of good breakout plays tonight. He has that ability to break through, he's very poised."
The 22-year-old defenseman has played five games in the NHL after making his debut on Jan. 23 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He recorded a combined seven shots over those five games, along with five blocked shots over that span.
Not only was it the first goal and point for the young defenseman, but Bolduc's goal had triple meaning on Tuesday night. Scott Mayfield's primary assist on the opening tally marked his 100th career NHL point (coming in his 400th game), while Brock Nelson earned the secondary helper to reach his season-long, eight-game point streak, with nine points (4G, 5A) over that span.
Bolduc was a last-minute addition to the lineup - with only an hour's notice ahead of puck drop - filling in for Alexander Romanov, who missed his first game of the season. Lambert is not anticipating a long absence for Romanov.

ILYA SOROKIN'S STELLAR SHUTOUT

Horvat wasn't the only Islander to receive loud ovations tonight, as the boisterous crowd also showed some love to Sorokin, who made 31 saves in his 15th career shutout, fifth of the season and second in as many games. With 15 career shutouts, Sorokin obtained sole possession of fourth place on the Islanders all-time shutout list, surpassing Tommy Salo (14) and is trailing only Rick DiPietro (16), Billy Smith (22), and Chico Resch (25) per NHL PR.
Sorokin chants erupted throughout the arena as the Islanders killed off their ninth consecutive penalty and the momentum built from there. The netminder denied all Seattle attempts in front of an iron-clad defense.
It hasn't been too long since Sorokin's last shutout, as his last start between the pipes resulted in a 2-0 victory for the Islanders on Jan. 27 against the Detroit Red Wings.
The netminder duo of Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov have been holding up strong for the Islanders, as the tandem only allowed two goals over the span of the last four games.
Prior to Monday, Horvat was only familiar with Sorokin's performance trying to shoot on him as an opponent, but as a teammate Horvat was able to see his abilities from a new angle.
"To see him tonight, it was pretty amazing," Horvat said. "His calmness, his poise and his flexibility speaks for itself. It's been a treat to watch it."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
Buy ticket here
.