Bo Horvat's return to Vancouver spoiled as Islanders fall to Canucks in OT for sixth straight loss

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Bo Horvat waved to acknowledge the standing ovation he was receiving during his first game back at Rogers Arena, choked up enough to wipe away tears with his glove from his reddened eyes after watching a tribute video to his eight-plus seasons with the Canucks.

There had been boos mixed in with polite applause when he was announced as starter. There were boos every time he touched the puck his first few shifts. There were cheers when he was booted from a defensive zone faceoff. There were boos after Horvat’s second-period goal. But the fans finally saluted the Canucks former captain – traded to the Islanders on Jan. 30 – during the retrospective at 6:11 of the first period.

But the Canucks ultimately ruined the homecoming, rallying from a two-goal, first-period deficit for a 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday night as the Islanders’ losing streak reached six (0-4-2).

“It was emotional through the whole warmup,” said Horvat, who scored on a one-timer from the right circle after getting the puck back from Mathew Barzal to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 8:33 of the second period.

“It brought back a ton of memories. The whole tribute and the way they reacted, it meant a lot to me. It was pretty special. I had a lot of good times here, a lot of firsts and a lot of memories. So it was a special night. Too bad we couldn’t get the two points. But one I won’t forget.”

But the Islanders (5-6-4) ruined Horvat’s homecoming just as much with yet another parade to the penalty box. The Canucks (12-3-1) were 3-for-6 on the power play – the Islanders have allowed nine man-advantage goals in six games – and tied it at 3 on defenseman Filip Hronek’s one-timer at 8:30 of the third period as they skated five-on-three with defenseman Noah Dobson drawing a delayed call for slashing Andrei Kuzmenko in the offensive zone and Jean-Gabriel Pageau then tripping him in the defensive zone at 7:35.

“I didn’t like our penalty killing,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought we were too passive. When you are getting scored on, you start to sit back and that’s what happened with that. And then you can’t take two penalties on the same play. It’s too good of a power play to do that.”

“Other than that, there were plenty of things to like about the game.”

Still, the Islanders have been outscored 15-3 in the third period over the last eight games (1-4-3).

Defenseman Quinn Hughes then broke free for J.T. Miller’s feed for the overtime winner at 2:36 with defenseman Adam Pelech, Horvat and Barzal on the ice. The Islanders are now 0-4 in overtime.

“Missed assignments,” Lambert said. “That’s it. There’s nothing else you can say. It’s three-on-three. It’s man-on-man. If you don’t get your assignment, it ends up in the back of your net.”

Horvat spent eight-plus seasons with Canucks, who drafted him ninth overall in 2013. But once the Canucks re-signed Miller to a seven-year, $56 million deal, there was no salary-cap space to work out a new deal with their captain.

Still stung more than two months after the trade, Horvat responded to a question about the atmosphere at UBS Arena by saying, “It’s a lot better than Vancouver, I can tell you that for free.”

The trade yielded Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a first-round pick that was dealt to the Red Wings as part of a package for Hronek, who has an 11-game point streak.

The Canucks have even re-assigned Horvat’s No. 53 to fourth-line center Teddy Blueger.

“I think [Horvat’s departure] went a little under the radar, from my perspective at least, with all the changes that was happening and everyone trying to buy into the new system and buy into the new culture,” Beauvillier said. “He was well liked here and everyone still has a ton of respect for him. You can feel that.”

The Islanders took a 2-0 lead with goals on both of their first-period power plays, both courtesy of Canucks defenseman Ian Cole. Pierre Engvall connected from the left circle on a shot that deflected off the Canucks’ Dakota Joseph at 7:30 for a 1-0 lead. Brock Nelson backhanded in his own rebound at 8:52.

But Cal Clutterbuck’s offensive-zone boarding penalty led to Miller’s one-timer to bring the Canucks with 2-1 at 4:39. And Brock Boeser, open in the low slot, closed the gap to 3-2 at 11:03 after Dobson was whistled for interference.

Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves while the Canucks’ Thatcher Demko stopped 30 shots.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.