It was clear that a 13-game goalless streak was weighing heavily on Bo Horvat's psyche.
At 18:55 of Saturday's second period, when Horvat finally put the puck in the back of the net, scoring his first goal in exactly a month and smiling, it was equally obvious that all the weight had been lifted off his shoulders. All over his face.
If that motivates Horvat, that might be the most important takeaway from this 4-3 win over the Hurricanes.
“He was teasing me, but to be honest I think I missed the shot. That's what we talked about afterwards. That's why I went in,” joked Jean-Gabriel Pageau. That pass sparked Horvat's rush. “I'm not a goalscorer [but] It still kind of sticks in the back of my mind when the puck doesn't go in and I have a chance. So we can assume that for a goalscorer like him, getting that one goal will definitely feel good. Sometimes that's just what you need to regain your confidence. ”
Speaking in Montreal on Tuesday night, Horvat shed his downtrodden persona and made it clear that scoring is an essential part of his job and that he feels he's underperforming.
“I understand how he feels,” coach Patrick Roy said. “But at the same time, I wanted him to focus on the things he can control and the way he plays, whether it's offensively or defensively. Good things will happen in the end.”
It's a common feeling when players experience a scoring drought, and one Horvat has espoused in colder months before.
But this seemed to go beyond that.
Now thankfully that's over.
“I understand that feeling sometimes,” captain Anders Lee said. “I feel like hockey has become fun again.”
On Saturday, Roy shook up the front line, with Brock Nelson centering the top line, flanked by Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri.
Horvat was skating between Max Tsyplakov and Pageau, while Simon Holmstrom dropped into the third row on the left wing along with Casey Cizikas and Oliver Wahlstrom.
Matt Martin returned to the fourth line after Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Kraken, with Kyle MacLean and Hudson Fassing rounding out the trio.
Dennis Cholowski returned to the lineup in place of Grant Hutton.
Scott Mayfield, who was paired with both, moved back to his natural right side to play with the left-handed Cholowski.
Roy hinted before the game that his team's plan was to start Ilya Sorokin on consecutive days Saturday and Sunday, while Semyon Varlamov would still be used on alternate days due to a lower-body injury.
However, this is subject to change.
