LAS VEGAS — The Islanders are packin’ the fastest gun in the East as they head to the West to continue their seven-game road trip on Thursday here in Sin City.
Bo Horvat will be looking to let ’em rip on The Strip after scoring two goals in the Islanders’ 5-0 shutout of the Rangers on Saturday at the Garden and adding another goal and an assist in their 3-2 overtime victory over the Devils on Monday.
It’s early in the season, but something special could be happening for the 30-year-old center who was acquired from Vancouver at the 2023 trade deadline and quickly signed an eight-year, $68 million contract extension that runs through the 2030-31 season.
Entering Tuesday’s action across North America, Horvat was tied for second in the NHL with 12 goals.
The Canadiens’ Cole Caufield had that same number, two behind leader Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche.
Horvat’s superpower this season has been his shot. His goal at Prudential Center was a beauty as he fielded a pass from Kyle Palmieri in open ice at the top of the slot, skated in between the circles and lifted a wrister to the top left corner past Jacob Markstrom.
It wouldn’t be accurate to assert Horvat is leaving his teammates speechless because they have plenty to say.
“I think he might be the best shooter in the world right now,” Mat Barzal, who scored the overtime winner in Newark, said of Horvat. “And that’s not just ’cause he’s getting lucky, it’s ’cause his shot is truly world-class. Anytime he’s around the net, he’s got a chance. In the slot, [the puck’s] got a great chance of going in. None of it’s luck. It’s work and he’s got an amazing shot.”
Jonathan Drouin skates on the second line with Barzal and Simon Holmstrom, but is the right wing on the first power-play unit, which is centered by Horvat. Like all of the Islanders, Drouin knows what to do when he’s on the ice with the sniper.
“Right now it’s kind of a running gag we got,” Drouin said. “I said it earlier, he’s got one of those shots where every time he shoots it, there’s some feeling it might go in. He’s super hot right now, we gotta give him the puck and give him shots.”
Horvat’s career high for goals is 38, which he accumulated in the 2022-23 season (31 with the Canucks, seven with the Islanders). He has buried 33 and 28 goals in his first two full years on the Island.
If the numbers on the back of his hockey card are a true harbinger of where this season will go, he won’t end up anywhere near the top of the franchise’s single-season scoring list. But this one number is undeniable, at least for today: Horvat is on pace to score 62 goals this season.
The only person in franchise history to beat that number is Hall of Famer Mike Bossy, who scored 69 goals in 1978-70; 68 in 1980-81; and 64 in 1981-82. Bossy’s name actually fills nine of the top 11 single-season totals, with only Pierre Turgeon (58 goals in 1992-93) and Pat LaFontaine (54 in 1989-90) residing in that exclusive neighborhood.
Horvat doesn’t exactly resemble Bossy on the ice. Horvat is a tank at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, shoots lefty and is largely the playmaker for his line from the center position. Bossy, whose flowing brown hair often covered his nameplate, was 6-foot, 186 pounds, shot righty and was the sniper who put 573 pucks past goalies in a 10-season NHL career.
Bossy, who died of cancer in 2022 at age 65, was best known for his slap shot. Stick pointed toward the ceiling as he sped down the wing, whipping around to crush vulcanized rubber and send it over, around and through the goaltender.
That’s not necessarily Horvat’s game. Of his 12 goals, five have come on wristers and seven on snap shots. Not a traditional slapper — which has become a lost art in the NHL — among them.
There are a lot of miles, games and goals to go for Horvat to climb that hill with the Dynasty’s greatest goal scorer. But if you ask his teammates, they’d say it again: He’s got a good shot.
The Islanders practice here on Wednesday before taking on the Golden Knights on Thursday and moving on to Salt Lake City for Friday’s game against the Mammoth. The tour takes them through Colorado, Dallas and Detroit next week.
“When you’re looking at the schedule, you always go, ‘Wow, these are [going to be] challenging games,’ ” Isles coach Patrick Roy said. “But we’re [going to] take it one by one. We have a challenging test in Vegas. We’ll have to be ready for them.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
