Bo Horvat joined the New York Islanders for practice on Friday morning in his first skate with the team since he sustained a lower-body injury in a game vs the Utah Mammoth on Jan. 1.
"It felt really good to be back with the guys and back in a regular routine practice," Horvat said. "It [was] a long road trip they were on, and it was lonely back here skating by yourself and stuff and hopefully be good to go tomorrow."
Head Coach Patrick Roy said the plan will be for Horvat to return to the lineup against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Horvat has missed nine games, and the Islanders went 5-3-1 in his absence.
"The guys did a really nice job while he wasn't playing but listen, he's our top goal scorer, he's playing PK, power play and wins big face-offs" Head Coach Patrick Roy said. "It's nice to see that there's always a player that comes out and gets the big goals or a big play for us. That speaks volumes of who we are as a team right now."
While the team was away on their seven-game, 16-day road trip, Horvat spent the time rehabbing and recovering on Long Island.
"I want to make sure I'm ready to go 100% and be at my best when I come back," Horvat said. "I think I owe that to the guys and the team to come back and be ready to go and I'm feeling better and better as the days go along."
Horvat leads the Islanders with 21 goals and ranks third in scoring with 33 points, behind Mathew Barzal (41 points) and Matthew Schaefer (34 points).
"It's awesome seeing him back, obviously a huge, key piece for us," Anthony Duclair said. "[He's] having a great season ... and it's going to help our offensive and defensive game."
