Horvat scores hat trick, Islanders defeat Oilers for 1st win

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Bo Horvat scored a natural hat trick to help the New York Islanders to their first win of the season, 4-2 against the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena on Thursday.

“My last [hat trick] was, like, six years ago,” Horvat said. “It definitely felt good to put that hat trick together finally. A lot of two-goal games, but it definitely felt good to get my first as an Islander.”

Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (1-3-0), and David Rittich made 31 saves in his New York debut.

Matthew Schaefer the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, had an assist for the Islanders to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists) to begin his career. He is the youngest defenseman in NHL history with a season-opening point streak of at least four games.

"I've really nothing to do with that in a way, because I give the puck to my teammates and they put it in the back of the net," Schaefer said. "It really doesn't matter at the end of the day what points you have or whatever. I just want to win and I just want to be there for the group of guys we have. I want them to trust me. I want them to rely on me in situations, too."

Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers (2-1-1) in their first regulation loss of the season. Stuart Skinner made 21 saves.

Horvat’s first goal, on a short-handed breakaway, tied the game 2-2 at 17:56 of the second period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau sprung Horvat with a pass from the Islanders' zone before Horvat beat Skinner blocker side from the slot.

Rittich then used his pad to deny Connor McDavid on a breakaway at 18:50 with Edmonton on the power play.

“I saw that he had a step on [Adam] Pelech and I played it as a breakaway,” Rittich said. “Thankfully, he didn't lift it enough. I don't know how big a save that was. I count every single save as a save if it's not going into the net. So if that gave a momentum to my team, it's great, but a save is a save.”

Horvat gave New York a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal at 15:14 of the third period after Barzal fed him at the left hash marks for a one-timer.

Horvat completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal at 19:51 for the 4-2 final.

"Every once in a while, you have one of those,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We did it to ourselves most of the night. I still think after two, it's not our finest. We have a chance on the road to win the period and go home happy, but obviously, there are too many penalties -- myself included. We did it to ourselves, and I think everybody saw that."

Barzal put the Islanders up 1-0 at 16:23 of the first period. After stripping Evan Bouchard of the puck in the neutral zone, Barzal went backhand to forehand on a breakaway and beat Skinner high glove side.

“I’ve seen Evan play better,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said of the defenseman, who had two giveaways and was minus-3. “We cannot just accept [the bad with the good]. Mistakes happen, but you have to address what types of mistakes are happening. Evan’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the League, certainly one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Tonight was not his night, but I’ve always seen him respond and play much better after games like this.”

Draisaitl tied it 1-1 on the power play at 17:40, finishing a give-and-go with McDavid from low in the right circle.

Nugent-Hopkins gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead on the rush at 8:53 of the second, snapping a shot from the left circle to the far side.

“First of all, I thought David played really well,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “I thought that save at the end of the second period on McDavid was a huge one for us. It kept the game where it was. The short-handed goal by Horvat and the power-play goal were also key moments in that game.

“I loved the 5-on-6, how we played it. I thought that Anthony Duclair had a big blocked shot on that one, and I thought we defended the net front. [Alexander] Romanov did a really good job protecting that goal line. So, yeah, there's a lot to like. We were very resilient all night long.”

NOTES: McDavid (assist) extended his point streak to four games (five assists). The center, the No. 1 pick by Edmonton in the 2015 NHL Draft, faced off against Schaefer for the first time. … Horvat’s last hat trick was with the Vancouver Canucks against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 22, 2019. … Rittich signed a one-year contract with New York on July 1.