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 — Divisional matchups are supposed to be high-intensity affairs, with animosity built up over the course of the season because of the familiarity.
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 4-3 overtime win over he Devils at Prudential Center, a game at times testy with both teams skating well.
Bo Horvat netted the winner at 1:09 of the extra period off a feed from Mathew Barzal.
The Islanders, with a solid defensive structure in both their end and the neutral zone, finally gave some goal support to goalie Ilya Sorokin, who entered the game with a 1.34 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage but who had already been on the wrong end of two 1-0 decisions.
He made 32 saves against the Devils while Jake Allen stopped 26 shots.
The Devils' Jesper Bratt sent this one past regulation with a backhander at 18:31 of the third period with Allen pulled for an extra skater.
The Islanders (3-2-2) were on the front end of a back-to-back as they face the Stanley Cup-champion Panthers on Saturday night at UBS Arena while the Devils (5-4-2) were on the back end of one after Thursday night’s 5-3 loss in Detroit. The Islanders, too, were coming off a loss to the Red Wings as they were beat 1-0 on Tuesday night despite outshooting the visitors 29-11.
The play turned chippy early in the second period as Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov had his helmet knocked off by Kurtis MacDermid’s hard check, prompting Scott Mayfield to drop the gloves with him. Back out for a penalty kill shift, Romanov, who had been spitting out blood on the bench, then decked Jack Hughes at the Islanders’ blue line.
Curtis Lazar, defended by Romanov, chipped the puck past Sorokin to tie it at 2-2 at 5:32 of the second period but Kyle Palmieri tipped Romanov’s blast to put the Islanders back ahead 3-2 at 11:28 of the second period.
Sorokin then denied Dawson Mercer’s breakaway at 15:17 and turned aside Hughes at the crease after Kyle MacLean’s ill-advised blind backhanded pass to the middle of the ice from the wall as the Islanders tried to clear the puck.
The Islanders struck quickly in the first period as Brock Nelson, in the slot, tipped defenseman Adam Pelech’s shot from the left point for a 1-0 lead at 1:23. Nico Hischier, getting open in the slot for Bratt’s feed at 11:36 of the first period, tied it but the Islanders regained a 2-1 lead at 14:03 on Anders Lee’s power-play goal with two seconds left on a slashing call against defenseman Brenden Dillon. Lee pounced on the rebound of defenseman Noah Dobson’s slap shot.
Notes & quotes: Semyon Varlamov is expected to be in net against the Panthers . . . 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 home and away 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.
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