Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal didn’t wait long Monday night to turn what could have been the New York Islanders’ most demoralizing blown third-period lead of the season into their second straight potentially seismic win.
The Islanders will attempt to continue surging Wednesday night when they host the Anaheim Ducks in the penultimate game of a season-long six-game homestand.
New York earned another dramatic overtime victory Monday when Horvat scored 46 seconds into overtime to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3.
The Islanders, who have been outscored 41-25 after the second period this season, squandered a third-period lead for the ninth time — and in uniquely awkward fashion — when Morgan Rielly scored with 6.4 seconds left in regulation.
Former New York captain John Tavares, who has been booed every time he’s hit the ice at the Islanders’ home arenas since he signed a seven-year deal with his hometown Maple Leafs in July 2018, collected his 1,000th career point by notching the primary assist on Rielly’s goal. Teammates mobbed Tavares and boos rained down as a message congratulating Tavares on his achievement aired on the scoreboard.
But on the home bench, Horvat and Barzal saw an immediate chance to rewrite the narrative. After Ilya Sorokin turned back a pair of shots by Auston Matthews, Barzal and Horvat started a 2-on-1 that ended with Horvat firing a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.
“‘Barzy’ and I looked at each other and just said, ‘Chance to be the heroes tonight,'” Horvat said.
It was the second straight overtime win for the Islanders, who overcame a two-goal third-period deficit Saturday to beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 and snap the Kings’ record-tying, 11-game season-opening road win streak. New York has collected at least a point in 12 of 13 games (9-1-3) since a four-game regulation losing streak from Nov. 7-13.
“We have the ability to beat anyone and get the job done,” Islanders center Brock Nelson said. “It’s a long year, it’s never going to be easy and sometimes, it’s not always going to be pretty.”
The Ducks’ tailspin continued Sunday night when they fell to the visiting Winnipeg Jets 4-2.
The last four weeks have been particularly trying for the Ducks, who missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season last year before opening this season with nine wins in their first 15 games.
The Ducks are 1-11-0 since Nov. 15, a span in which they’ve been outscored 49-24. The loss to the Jets was doubly frustrating for Anaheim, which led 2-0 early in the third before Winnipeg scored four goals in the final 18:02.
The Ducks have suffered six multi-goal losses during their skid and have led in just four of the 12 games.
“It’s terrible,” Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said. “You lose a game that you could have won. You’ve got to stay positive and pull out the positive things we’re doing. You have to turn it. It’s got to turn.”
–Field Level Media
