Islanders force overtime, but lose to Canadiens on Nick Suzuki's goal
Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin stops a shot as the Montreal Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson skate in for the rebound during the second period of an NHL game in Montreal on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL — This is not about Bo Horvat. But the top-line center’s frustration is intertwined with the Islanders’ struggles as a whole right now.
“At the end of the day, I’ve got to put the puck in the net,” Horvat said after not doing so for the 12th straight game. “It’s definitely frustrating. I’m not going to lie. It’s not fun.”
Not only did Horvat’s goal-less streak grow again but the winning score came with a bad-luck bounce off his skate as the Islanders lost 2-1 in overtime to the Canadiens on Tuesday night at Bell Centre.
Nick Suzuki’s second-chance shot from the left at 2:39 of overtime ended a goalie’s dual between Ilya Sorokin and the Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault.
“He just shot it, hit my skate and it went right back to him,” Horvat said. “Yeah, it [stinks]. I was in the right spot to get the rebound and it just took a [expletive] hop on me and ended up in the back of the net. That's the way it's going.”
The Islanders (9-10-7), who outshot the hosts 31-27 after putting 17 on net in the second period, have points in three straight games (1-0-2) but still have won back-to-back matches just once this season.
“I thought it was a pretty good hockey game,” said Anders Lee, who muscled to the left post and finally squeezed the puck past Montembeault to tie it at 1-1 at 18:55 of the second period. “Both teams had looks, good kills, good power plays. Low-scoring, obviously and that’s a tough one at the end. Bang, bang.”
It dropped the Islanders to 3-7 in overtime this season. Horvat and Simon Holmstrom had a two-on-one rush just before Suzuki’s goal but Horvat couldn’t complete it.
“We’d like it to be better,” Lee said of the overtime record. “It’s all possession. You get possession in overtime and you control a few seconds there. You get a few opportunities. We’ve got to find a way to get a little more possession.”
The Canadiens (9-13-3) opened a 1-0 lead on Patrik Laine’s power-play goal from the left — a rising shot that beat Sorokin over the glove — at 7:23 of the second period. Laine, the second overall pick by the Jets in 2016, was making his Canadiens’ debut and playing in his first NHL game since Dec. 14, 2023 after missing the first 24 games with a knee injury.
He was acquired in the offseason from the Blue Jackets after requesting a trade out of Columbus. He broke his clavicle last season and then entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28. His goal elicited a standing ovation from the Bell Centre crowd.
The Islanders went 0-for-3 on the power play, leaving them 2-for-20 over their last nine games. To be fair, Montembeault robbed them twice on the Islanders’ second man advantage of the second period, stopping both Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the crease.
Montembeault also gobbled up Horvat’s hard shot from the slot at 6:40 of the first period.
“I love Bo and he’s putting too much pressure on himself to score,” said coach Patrick Roy, the Hall of Fame goalie who received none of the fanfare that his first return trip to Bell Centre with the Islanders brought.
“Right now, it’s his main focus. Bo Horvat is a 200-foot player. It’s a guy that will get those chances and will get those goals. Right now, he’s focusing on scoring goals. He should just keep playing his game. They will come.”
Notes & quotes: Pageau returned to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body-injury . . . Goalie Semyon Varlamov backed up Sorokin after missing Monday’s practice with a lower-body injury. Marcus Hogberg, recalled on an emergency basis for Monday’s practice, was returned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport . . . Casey Cizikas dressed as the fourth-line center after being unable to participate in Tuesday’s morning skate because of illness . . . The Islanders caught a break near the end of regulation when Maxim Tsyplakov was initially called for a four-minute high stick on Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle but the referees reviewed and overturned the call when it was determined Guhle was hit by a teammate’s stick. Roy said the review was done without the Islanders requesting one.
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.
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