Isles Day-to-Day: Horvat to Return vs Rangers

The New York Islanders got a late Christmas present, as Bo Horvat is expected to return to the New York Islanders lineup on Saturday after missing five games with a lower-body injury.

Horvat took line rushes with Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman on his wings and resumed his roles on both the Islanders power play and penalty kill.

"I'm feeling good about myself right now and where I'm at," Horvat said. "I just want to go talk to [Head Coach] Patrick [Roy] and make sure everything's good to go and yeah, hopefully I'll be in tonight."

Horvat is looking to pick up where he left off, as he recorded 31 points (19G, 12A) in 32 games prior to his injury, though the center acknowledged that there might be a ramp up period to get back to where he was at pre-injury.

"I can't think it's just going to be easy," Horvat said. "I have to work for it, and I have to work as hard as I was working before I got hurt. Just get back to my game and focus on the little things and not get too ahead of myself, and just take it shift by shift."

It's a welcome return for the Islanders, as Horvat leads the team in goals (19) and points (31) this season. The Islanders went 2-2-1 without Horvat, most recently beating the New Jersey Devils 2-1, but have been held to two goals or fewer (in regulation) in all five games.

"It's nice to have him back," Head Coach Patrick Roy said. "It's also nice to see the way the team played without him. It showed the depth that we have, and I was pretty happy with the way the team's been playing some lately."

With Horvat returning to the lineup, Anthony Duclair is expected to come out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. Roy called it a "tough decision" and said Duclair has been playing well of late.

"It's heartbreaking to get guys out of the lineup," Roy said. "We took [Maxim Shabanov] out in Buffalo. Tonight, it's [Duclair], and he's been playing really well. We're in a situation that we have to make those tough calls."

David Rittich will start in goal for the Islanders as Ilya Sorokin was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 20.

See below for how the Isles lined up for Saturday's morning skate.

Jonathan Drouin – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman
Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Simon Holmstrom
Max Shabanov – Cal Ritchie – Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Marshall Warren – Scott Mayfield