Takeaways: Horvat Scores Twice as Isles Beat Blackhawks 4-1

Bo Horvat scored a pair of goals, including his third power-play goal in as many games, and the New York Islanders beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at UBS Arena on Thursday.

Emil Heineman and Anthony Duclair scored goals 2:54 apart in the second period and Horvat added his second with an empty net tally in the third. Logan Stanley had a pair of assists for his second multi-assist performance of the year.

Frank Nazar scored the lone goal for the Blackhawks with 2:34 remaining in the third period and minutes later was assessed a five-minute major for a hit to the head on Horvat.

Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves and went 165:31 – including seven full periods – of game action dating back to the season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs without allowing a goal. That marks the longest shutout stretch of his career and sixth longest in team history.

Sorokin also delivered the longest home shutout streak to start a season in team history with 117:26 of goalless hockey.

“It's pretty impressive,” Heineman said. “He's one of the best for a reason, and we're blessed to have him, and we trying to do our best to help him, and he's a really big part of our team, and we're glad to have him.”  

Matthew Schaefer recorded a primary assist on Horvat’s first goal for the 62^nd point of his career. He’s now tied for third in franchise history for points by an Islanders teenager.

The Islanders have outscored opponents 10-1 at UBS Arena this season.

The Islanders improved their record to 2-2-0.

Bo Knows Power-Play Goals

Horvat continued his torrid start to the 2026-27 season with a pair of goals against a team he’s historically dominated in his career.

Horvat has a point in each of the first four games this season with a trio of power-play tallies, four total goals and an assist. It’s the first time in his career he’s opened the season with a four-game point streak.

The power-play tally was a crafty play as he won the faceoff back to Schaefer and jammed home the rebound after sliding it through the defenseman’s legs. The Isles captain has a seven-game point streak against the Blackhawks with goals in six of those seven games.

“He's unbelievable,” Stanley said. “He's our leader up there, and you see how hard he works in practice and in the gym, and those guys have a different level of preparation. He's a world class player and very underrated in my opinion.”

Horvat’s empty-netter came with fireworks after he was hit up high by Nazar. The Isles quickly responded as Stanley and JG Pageau were part of the melee to defend their captain.

Head Coach Pete DeBoer said Horvat is still being evaluated after the hit but the immediate answer after the questionable hit showed the kind of togetherness teams should exemplify.

“That’s our captain, that's our leader, and it doesn't matter who it is,” Stanley said. “Come after one of us, you gotta come after all of us. Great job by everybody sticking up for him, and that's what good teams do.”

Cue The Highlight Reel

Heineman and Duclair's second period tallies were both dynamic plays that showed how lethal the Islanders could be in the offensive zone.

Firstly,Heineman’s play started in the defensive zone blue line as Adam Pelech – who is now tied for 10^th in franchise history for points by an Islanders defenseman with 179 – created a turnover and fed the puck up the ice to Matias Maccelli. The Finnish forward then found the trailer in Heineman who rifled a wrister past Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom.

“He’s a really skilled player and nice play to get it right on tape for me,” Heineman said of Maccelli. “For me it was just all open, so just trying to get it on net pretty much and got a little screen from Bo [Horvat] as well.”

The second highlight reel goal came 2:54 later as Duclair ignited the play on the rush. He got inside positioning on Chicago defenseman Artyom Levshunov and drew a penalty with a power move on net.

On the delayed penalty, Duclair won the puck back in the corner and passed to Pageau who dished it to Stanley before a return pass to a wide open Duclair at the side of the yawning cage.

Duclair said he feels healthier and more confident at this point in the season compared to past years and played with noticeable energy. It was the kind of effort that DeBoer appreciated after he challenged him Thursday morning.

“I talked to him this morning and said I need you to get back to what you were doing because he was becoming a real important part of our group, and he responded tonight,” DeBoer said. “I'm glad he got rewarded because it's a little while coming. He could have had a couple the first couple games.”

Mayfield Makes Return As Isles D-Corps Shines

It was a standout night for the Islanders defensive unit that posted four points combined and a plus-4 rating as a group.

Stanley had one of the better performances of his seven-year NHL career with a pair of assists, three blocked shots and a pair of hits.

He logged a season-high 23:51, which is the fourth-highest of his career and the most in a single game since Feb. 25, 2026. Stanley said he simplified his approach playing alongside Schaefer and was part of the Islanders special teams unit that killed off all three Blackhawks power plays.

Scott Mayfield made his season debut and logged 12:32 of ice time with a blocked shot and two hits.

“I thought our whole D-core was really good tonight,” DeBoer said. “I liked how we broke the puck out, I liked how we defended. Maysie came in and gave us some solid minutes. I thought it was Tony DeAngelo's best game he's played here this year. I thought it was Pulock’s best game this year so far. I thought Stan [Stanley] was excellent. Schaef and Pelly are consistently excellent every night. But I thought everyone else gave us some really good minutes tonight.”

Next Game

The Islanders return to UBS Arena on Saturday for the second contest of their three-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m.