Islanders' top line knows it must lead the way during playoff push
Bo Horvat #14 of the Islanders reacts after his missed shoot out attempt gave the Columbus Blue Jackets the victory at UBS Arena on Monday, March 24, 2025 in Elmont. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Bo Horvat understands and welcomes the expectations that come with being a top-line center. So he can’t help but want to do more than he has with the Islanders in danger of sliding out of the playoff chase.
They brought an 0-3-2 skid into Tuesday night’s opening of a three-game homestand against the Lightning at UBS Arena and were three points out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. That included Saturday’s 5-3 road loss to the Lightning in which the Islanders yielded the first four goals.
“I think we’ve got more, to be honest,” Horvat told Newsday when asked about his trio with Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee. “We had a big goal last game [Sunday’s 6-4 road loss to the Hurricanes] but, at the same time, we need to find a way to keep pucks out of our net, too. I feel like I’ve been on for too many goals against and not enough on for. At this time of the year, your best players and your top lines have got to be your best lines. These last games, we have to step up our game for sure.”
Top-pair defenseman Alexander Romanov vented similar thoughts prior to Tuesday’s match, still unhappy he was on the ice for all three of the Lightning’s first-period goals on Saturday.
“The first period was unacceptable, I can’t play like that,” Romanov said. “Everyone in the group has to play their best game and I didn’t.”
Horvat had one goal and three assists — two against the Hurricanes — in his last five games but was a minus-8 in that span, even if that statistic has become outdated.
Horvat (24 goals, 27 assists, 51 points), Lee (27-23-50) and Palmieri (23-24-47) were the Islanders’ three leading scorers entering Tuesday, accounting for 37.0% of the team’s 200 goals and 28.1% of the team’s 526 points.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves as is,” Palmieri told Newsday. “For us, it’s about driving the bus. We’ve got to be the line that makes the difference. I don’t think that’s added pressure purely because of who’s in and out of the lineup. It’s really about being leaders on this team and having the opportunity to impact a game for our team.”
Still, the responsibility the top line feels to lead the way has naturally increased with top-line wing Mathew Barzal out with a lower-body injury since Feb. 2 and second-line center Brock Nelson, the Islanders’ leading goal scorer in each of the past five seasons, traded to the Avalanche on March 6.
“At times like these when you’re missing two guys like that, other guys have to step up,” Horvat said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to do that. I want to be that guy that the team can rely on in every situation. Yeah, I put that on my shoulders for sure. Any player in my situation should and would.”
Which isn’t necessarily a negative.
“I think it can push you as a player,” Horvat said. “Push you mentally, physically. Help you grow as a player knowing you can show up in the big moments. These last games are our big moments and I want to be a guy that makes a difference for sure.”
But, asked specifically about Romanov’s self-assessment, coach Patrick Roy cautioned against his players getting away from their game and the overall team concept.
“You know what? Sometimes, Romy, when he’s trying to do too much, that’s where he gets hurt,” Roy said. “He cares about the team. He wants to do well. But, sometimes, too much, it’s not better. Romy needs to focus on what is his game. He’s a defensive defenseman.”
And, in general, Roy wants to see the Islanders play a north-south game rather than trying to pass the puck east-west. He wants the turnovers limited and the breakouts from the defensive zone cleaner.
Less can be more.
Notes & quotes: North Dakota’s Cameron Berg, a fourth-round pick in 2021, signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. Berg, 23, a left-shooting forward, had 12 goals and 10 assists in 26 games as a senior . . . Defensemen Scott Mayfield, Mike Reilly and Scott Perunovich and forward Matt Martin remained healthy scratches.
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.
