Takeaways: Horvat’s Hat Trick Leads Isles to 4-2 Win Over Oilers

Bo Horvat’s second-career hat trick powered the New York Islanders to their first win of the season on Thursday, toppling the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 at UBS Arena.

Horvat scored three goals – including the game-winner – and Mathew Barzal had a two-point night (1G, 1A) in the win, while David Rittich made 31 saves in his Islanders debut. Leon Draisaitl (PPG) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers and Stuart Skinner turned aside 21 of 24 shots faced.

TAKEAWAYS

- Horvat had been hungry to score - he entered the night with a team-leading 16 shots on goal – and was around the net from the get-go on Thursday. After being denied on some grade-A looks early, he broke through on a shorthanded breakaway in the second period. Horvat potted a power-play goal for the game winner one-timing a Barzal feed from the bumper spot and added an empty netter to ice it. Horvat said postgame it felt good to get his first hat trick as an Islander, especially in unique fashion.

- Rittich impressed in his Islanders debut, backstopping the Isles with 33 saves. Big Save Dave lived up to his nickname when denied Connor McDavid with a right pad save when the Oilers captain cut across the crease with speed in the second period. Though his teammates considered it to be a turning point in the game, Rittich said his mentality is that every save is equal. He weathered the storm late in the third period to prevent Edmonton from tying the game during a late push, which featured a big block from Anthony Duclair.

“He was phenomenal,” Horvat said of Rittich. “He stepped in against a high-octane offense like that and he made unbelievable saves when he needed to. We couldn’t have done that without him.”

- Rittich quipped that Horvat’s hat trick wasn’t the only time his teammate helped him tonight – Horvat also drove Rittich to the game.

- The Islanders scored a season-high four goals against an Oilers team who have been stingy defensively to start the season, allowing just five goals in their first three games heading into tonight. The Islanders jumped on the board first, with Barzal poking the puck away from Evan Bouchard at the blueline and racing in tight on Skinner, going top shelf for his first goal of the season. It also marked the first time the Isles scored the opening goal, and not having to play from behind made a big difference.

“We talked about jumping on them quick, that was a big emphasis for us today,” Horvat said. “Barzy made a heck of a play to score that goal and it got us going for the rest of the night.”

- The penalty kill both allowed and scored a goal and went and went 3-for-4 on the night. McDavid sent a well-timed pass from the goal line to Draisaitl, who found a soft spot in the right circle between three Isles defenders, ripping a shot through Rittich to even the score at one apiece. The Isles shorthanded units got one back in the middle frame, when JG Pageau made a smart heads-up play, connecting with Horvat who flew the zone to get open, but buried a tally that gave the energy to take the lead in the third and close out the win.

“JG Pageau made a heck of a play to get that to me, it’s not an easy play by any means,” Horvat said. “We needed to make a push at some point, they were coming on pretty strong. That carried us the rest of the game there.”

- Matthew Schaefer tallied a secondary assist on Horvat’s tally late in the third period to extend his point streak to four games (1G, 3A). Schaefer became the youngest player to string together a four-game point streak to kick off his NHL career.

- Roy highlighted Alexander Romanov’s performance, noting his physicality and open-ice hit in the second period, saying it was the defenseman’s best game of the season. Romanov led the team with six hits and skated 19:47 TOI.

FIRST WIN FOR FIRST-TIME GM MATHIEU DARCHE

It was a milestone night for Isles GM and EVP Mathieu Darche, who earned his first win as a general manager.

Roy has been talking about the about the collective urgency to get Darche his first win, and his team pulled it off with a well-structured a game against a talented team. Darche got the game puck in a celebratory locker room scene.

"We're really happy to get him that one," Horvat said. "He deserves it. It's a stepping stone to what's to come here."

NEXT GAME

The Islanders hit the road for a matinee contest on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Puck drop is set for 3PM.