Islanders beat Devils in overtime as Bo Horvat's goal caps better offensive effort
Islanders center Bo Horvat, second from right, is congratulated by teammates after scoring the game winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Newark, N.J. Credit: AP/Adam Hunger
NEWARK — Division matchups are supposed to be high-intensity affairs, with animosity built up over the course of the season because of the familiarity. So there was Alexander Romanov sitting on the Islanders’ bench after taking a high hit from Kurtis MacDermid, spitting out blood but refusing stitches, then jumping over the boards to deliver a crushing blow to the Devils’ best player, Jack Hughes.
“It was a big game for us tonight,” Bo Horvat said after scoring the winner in overtime as the Islanders finally gave superb goalie Ilya Sorokin goal support in a 4-3 victory over New Jersey. “It was a huge two points to get against a really good hockey team.”
This one wasn’t at a playoff-like level yet, but the Islanders got their first taste of Metropolitan Division play in Friday night’s win at Prudential Center, with Horvat connecting off Mathew Barzal’s feed at 1:08 of the extra period. The Devils, skating six-on-five, had tied it on Jesper Bratt’s close-in shot with 1:29 left in regulation.
“They were all [ticked] off that we gave up that goal,” coach Patrick Roy said. “To me, character.”
On the other hand, it’s already the third time this season the Islanders (3-2-2) have given up a goal with less than three minutes left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
Still, Sorokin, who entered the game with a 1.34 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage but who already had been on the wrong end of two 1-0 decisions, finally was rewarded after his 32-save performance.
“He had to make so many key saves for us and he does so many good things, it’s nice for him to get rewarded for all his hard work,” Horvat said.
“We played good tonight,” Sorokin said. “We scored four goals and played good defensively. Finally, when you see your team score, it’s a good feeling.”
Jake Allen stopped 26 shots for the Devils (5-4-2), in an 0-2-2 slump and playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
The main difference between Friday’s win and Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Red Wings at UBS Arena (in which the Islanders had a 29-11 shot advantage) was their ability to create traffic near the crease.
Two of their goals came off tips as Brock Nelson deflected defenseman Adam Pulock’s blast from the left point to open the scoring at 1:23 of the first period and Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 11:28 of the second period by getting his stick on Romanov’s hard shot from the blue line.
“If we’re going to go to those areas and get in front of the net, the puck has got to get through in order for that to work,” Horvat said. “They did a good job of getting those pucks through tonight. They’ve got to continue to do that.”
Romanov was rocked by MacDermid at 2:55 of the second period. Roy called it a hit to the head and defenseman Scott Mayfield fought MacDermid. But back out for a penalty kill shift, Romanov — who had a game-high five hits — took it out on Hughes before setting up Palmieri’s goal.
“That’s one of the better 20 minutes of hockey I’ve seen,” said Anders Lee, whose power-play goal off a rebound gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 14:03 of the first period after Nico Hischier had tied it at 11:36. “I think he was a part of everything that period.”
Curtis Lazar, defended by Romanov, chipped the puck past Sorokin to tie it at 2-2 at 5:32 of the second period.
But Sorokin denied Dawson Mercer’s breakaway at 15:17 of the second period and turned aside Hughes at the crease at 18:56 after Kyle MacLean made an ill-advised blind backhanded pass to the middle of the ice from the wall as the Islanders tried to clear the puck.
Notes & quotes: Wild general manager Bill Guerin, doubling as the Team USA GM for the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament in February, was in the building to scout . . . Semyon Varlamov is expected to be in net against the visiting Panthers on Saturday night . . . Defenseman Dennis Cholowski remained the healthy scratch . . . Viam, a technology business specializing in AI, has agreed to a partnership with the Islanders and will have its logo on the team’s helmets.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
More Islanders
