The New York Islanders picked up a dominant victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in their previous game, winning 4-1.
However, there was a scary moment near the end involving their captain, Bo Horvat. As he unleashed a shot on the Blackhawks’ empty net, which would end up being his second goal of the evening, he was on the receiving end of a nasty hit from Chicago forward Frank Nazar.
Nazar caught Horvat in the upper body, making contact with the side of his head with his shoulder. The League would hand down a two-game suspension for the play. It started a fracas, with Islanders teammates coming to the defense of their captain after he was on the receiving end of an unnecessary hit.
“That’s kind of the brotherhood we have in here, and the type of guys we have in here,” Horvat said, via Tyler Miller of NHL.com. “I appreciate that from our group, and coming in for me there.”Â
Horvat would return to the bench, but was shortly escorted back to the locker room. He was selected as the No. 1 star in the game but didn’t come out for his celebratory lap or post-game interview, which was instead done by No. 2 star, Anthony Duclair.
Luckily, there seem to be no lingering effects from the hit. Whatever testing he underwent came back clean because Horvat was back with his teammates on the ice during their morning skate ahead of a matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He was in his normal spot as the No. 1 center, sharing a line with Kyle Palmieri on the right wing and Emil Heineman on the left wing.
“It’s an unfortunate play, but luckily I’m fine and ready to go tonight,” Horvat said.
Head coach Peter DeBoer is certainly happy to have his star forward in the mix in a tough matchup with the Lightning. Horvat has been on fire to begin the season, recording a point in all four games thus far, totaling four goals and one assist; he currently leads the NHL with three power-play goals.
“I’m just thankful he’s available because sometimes with those head shots you can lose a guy for quite a while,” DeBoer said. “We crossed our fingers and he’s good, and I’m happy that we have him.”
New York is certainly fortunate that Horvat won’t miss any more action than the waning moments against the Blackhawks. They are already without Mathew Barzal, who is dealing with a knee injury and has yet to appear in a game.
Defenseman Alexander Romanov is likely out for the season after tearing his ACL against the New York Rangers on Oct. 6. It is the second straight year his campaign was cut short due to injury.
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