Horvat breaks tie late, Islanders defeat Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Bo Horvat scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period and the New York Islanders held on for a 3-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Horvat, who will play for Team Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortino 2026, lost an offensive zone face-off to Nico Hischier but skated onto the loose puck at the bottom of the left circle before scoring on a backhand in the slot for a 2-1 lead at 16:33 of the third.

"It wasn't a clean draw win and I just kind of saw it laying there and tried to battle as far as I could to get it," Horvat said. "I had a lane to the net, and [Devils goalie Jake Allen] tried to poke check and thankfully I got around it and slipped it five-hole."

Mathew Barzal scored an empty-net goal at 19:36 for the 3-1 final, extending his goal streak to four games.

The game was the last for each team prior to the Olympics.

Horvat also had an assist and Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for the Islanders (32-21-5), who have won two straight games and five of seven.

The Islanders swept the four-game series against the Devils for the first time since 2018-19, outscoring them 17-4.

"Eight games in 11 days, coming up with a game like this, that's a good one for us," New York coach Patrick Roy said. "I mean, it was not always pretty … a couple turnovers in the first period that gave them some chances and gave them some momentum at times. But I'm really proud of our group."

Hischier scored, and Allen made 11 saves for the Devils (28-27-2), who have lost five of their past six games.

"One play cost us the game," said Hischier, who will represent Team Switzerland in the Olympics. "We did a lot of good things but at the end, come up short again. We should have just tried to get that overtime and try to get the second point there. It [stinks] to have that as our last game but the break is there to flush everything and hopefully we come back and everybody has a fresh mindset and re-attack."

Casey Cizikas gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead, knocking in a rebound from the slot at 6:30 of the second period.

"There was nothing out there tonight," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "I thought this was the best defensive game [the Devils] played. They were on our backs coming out of our zone. In the neutral zone, they were there on our backs, and then even in the offensive zone. It was tough to get free tonight, really tough, but we put ourselves in a position for Bo to go win it for us."

Hischier pulled the Devils into a 1-1 tie on a snap shot from the right hashmarks at 18:26. It was New Jersey's first goal in two games after a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

"We need to have a certain standard of the way we approach the day, regardless of our situation," Allen said. "Obviously, we understand that over these next three weeks, we'll have a lot of time to reflect on a lot of different things. We’ve got to go on a [heck] of a run; that's what it comes down to.

"We’ve got the guys to do it. It's just a little bit of belief and a little bit of recovery and hopefully some guys come back from the Olympics with some medals and keep going."

Sorokin made 12 saves in the second, stopping a snap shot from low in the right face-off circle by Dougie Hamilton at 13:12, and an uncontested wrist shot by Jesper Bratt from the slot at 14:24.

"It's a huge win not only standings wise, but confidence ... the confidence going into the break," Horvat said. "Knowing we're in a good spot, it's up to us to keep ourselves there and keep getting wins after the break too."

NOTES: The Islanders swept the New York Rangers and Devils in the same season for the first time in franchise history. ... Forward Nick Bjugstad, acquired in trade with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, had one shot and three hits in 10:42 of ice time in his Devils debut.