The Islanders have finally grabbed a win, ending their quest for an unbeaten record. After four games, they managed to defeat the Oilers 4-2 on Thursday, with Bo Horvat’s hat trick being a standout performance. This victory made them the last team to secure a point in the NHL this season. It’s a bit early in the season—mid-October, to be precise—but it felt quite necessary for morale.
While there was a lot of buzz around Matthew Schaefer, the team’s performance had been somewhat shaky in the first three games. Coach Patrick Roy had hoped for a victory under general manager Mathieu Darche, and the Isles certainly didn’t want to head to Ottawa with that fresh in their minds.
On Thursday, the team upped their game significantly, especially defensively. They exhibited aggressive forechecking, and Alexander Romanov paired with Tony DeAngelo had their best outing of the season so far. Ryan Pulock stepped up too. Mathew Barzal and Horvat each got their first goals, and David Rittich had a strong showing in his first game in net against a solid Oilers team. The decision to insert Kyle McClain in the fourth line instead of Maxim Tsyplakov seemed to pay off.
This time, Schaefer didn’t dominate on the ice as he had previously; while he extended his point streak to four games with a secondary assist, his ice time decreased notably from his usual over-26-minute games. This might actually bode well for the Islanders moving forward.
Yet, late in the second period, things looked precarious for the Islanders as they clung to a 2-1 lead while the Oilers pressed during a power play. Just when the tension mounted, Horvat took advantage of a breakaway, courtesy of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, to tie the game at two.
The Islanders had struggled on the power play for much of the night, initially converting the first two chances but faltering on the third. However, Schaefer’s high stick on Trent Frederic led to a breakthrough. Almost immediately after that, Pageau set up Horvat for the go-ahead goal with just under five minutes left.
The game headed into a stressful final stretch with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice, but Rittich held his ground, and Horvat sealed his hat trick with an empty-netter.
Barzal prevented another difficult start for the Islanders by stealing the puck from Evan Bouchard and scoring early in the first period. Nonetheless, the Oilers took the lead just over a minute into the game, with Draisaitl capitalizing on a power play from McDavid.
Edmonton looked set to take control, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins netted a wrist shot to put them ahead early in the second. The Islanders were facing down the prospect of a dismal 0-4 start, the worst in franchise history, but they kept their heads up.
They dodged that bullet. Now, it’s all about leaving those first three games behind and diving back into the competition.
