HORROR: New York Islanders Bo Horvat INJURY Could DEVASTATE Season – How Will Team RESPOND?

HORROR: New York Islanders Bo Horvat INJURY Could DEVASTATE Season – How Will Team RESPOND?

The New York Islanders scored a big 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, but the cost could be seasonal altering as Bo Horvat left the game early with what looked like could be a serious injury. We’ll talk about the impact of that and more next on today’s Locked On Islanders podcast. You’re Locked On Islanders, your daily podcast on the New York Islanders, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Gil Martin here. Welcome everybody to the Friday edition of the Locked On Islanders podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked On Islanders your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. And thank you for helping to make Locked On the number one sports podcast network. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. I’m Gil Martin. I’ve been covering the New York Islanders for almost two decades and I wrote the book Ice Wars on the history of the Islanders rivalry with the Rangers from 1972 to the modern era. So glad you could join us today to talk a little Islanders hockey and wow we’ve got so much to discuss. A big win for the New York Islanders. A four-point night for Anders Lee, but a scary injury to Bo Horvat and his potential loss could be huge for this Islanders team. We’ll break that down. We’ll have our hero and go to the game and we’ll preview Saturday’s contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s start with the good news. The Islanders played a heck of a hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks who entered last night’s game in first place in the Pacific Division. And the Islanders jumped on Anaheim from the get-go. Scored the first three goals of this game in the first period to take a three nothing lead. Two goals by Anders Lee, both on the power play. And that was a a great start to this game. And the Islanders never trailed. Yeah, the Ducks cut it to 3 to2 with a short-handed goal early in the third period, but ultimately this was uh a a great game for the New York Islanders. David Riddick standing tall. Great moment early on. The first goal of the game, Travis Mitchell, his first career NHL goal. And that was great to see and and you had to feel special for Mitchell. A a night he will never forget. Anders Lee finishes the game with two goals and two assists. Simon Holstrom adds a goal and two assists. Ryan Pock gets his first goal of the year after he has done everything it seems but score a goal. And overall this was just a really strong performance. the the power play. Even after giving up the shorty, scored two power play goals. So, you got to like that. And just the way this team played the fourth line, keeps on playing well. And Mark Gatam again, seven hits in a little less than 10 and a half minutes on the ice. he continues to to play well and be the catalyst for this fourth line which overall has been much much better since Gatkam returned to the team and is back in the lineup. And yet all of this kind of pales in comparison to the potential loss of Bo Horvat. Horvat only played 10 minutes and 1 second of action before he had to leave the game. Looked like, you know, there was uh some contact. His skate appeared to get tangled up with one of the Ducks players. He ended up hitting the board awkwardly. You could tell he was in pain from the very minute that that you know that he got up with difficulty and he did not return to the game ultimately. Uh after the game Patrick Wah announcing that Bo Horvat is dayto day with a lower body injury. We obviously do not know the extent of the injury. I don’t even think the Islanders know yet. they’re going to have to, you know, run some tests and have him see some doctors. You you start with daytoday, you hope it ends with dayto-day. So, ultimately, this is a hold your breath moment for the New York Islanders because let’s face it, the New York Islanders can win games without certain players. They’ve already been winning without Alexander Romanov. They won games with JG Pacio on the shelf, Jonathan Druan. In fact, all three of those guys out at the same time. But if you’re looking at the long run situation of this hockey team, I don’t know if there are too many players who you could miss more offensively than Bo Horvat. Horvat with 19 goals and 31 points in 31 games coming into last night. He leads the team with three game-winning goals. He has 11 points on the power play including five goals. He has a short-handed goal and he just is a leader on and off the ice for this team. Other than Ilia Siroken, Matthew Schaefer, and maybe Matthew Barzal, I can’t think of too many players this team can afford to lose more uh less long-term than Bo Horvat. And again, I want to make it clear, we don’t know the extent of this injury. I would be so relieved and so happy if this was just a scare. If, you know, he tweaks something, he misses Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay and then comes back next week, you know, more or less at full strength. Uh, you know, the Islanders come back Tuesday against Detroit. And if Bo Horvad is in the lineup, great. But it didn’t look good. And I think one of the other factors and uh you heard this in between periods uh you know with one of the interviews with Shannon Hogan on uh MSG network that Bo Horvat and we all know this if you if you’re an everyday or if you’ve been following this team for a while you know how tough Bo Horvat is that he does not want to come out of the lineup and the fact that he could not return. You hope it’s precautionary, but it it just didn’t look good. And you know, Bo Horvat has 19 goals. That is the next highest Islander entering last night’s game was Emil Heinman with 10. So, Horvat has almost double the number of goals of the next highest player. And think about it, the entire Islanders team has 90 goals and Bo Horvette has 19 of them. That is a very high percentage. And you just don’t want to lose a player of that caliber. What would Matthew Darsh do if Bo Horvad is out of the lineup for, you know, an extended period of time? And again, we don’t know what that means. Is it a week? Is it a couple of days? Or are we talking longer than that? At what point does Matthew Dar have to make a decision about what direction to take? Because let’s face it, to replace the production of a Bo Horvat would require trading away players, picks, prospects, maybe a combination of them. And look, the Islanders have some salary cap room. They’ve got guys they can easily place on LTIR, but if Bo Horvat is out long term, can you salvage this season? I would say it would be difficult. I’m not saying it would be impossible. And obviously here at this immediate moment, we have to wait and see where, you know, what what the actual diagnosis is going to be and how long Bo Horvat is going to be out, if any time. He he could even be in the lineup Saturday, although, like I said, it didn’t look good. I don’t think this was a dirty hit. I don’t think there was any intent on the play to injure Bo Horvat. This wasn’t a boarding call. This wasn’t a cross check. This was just two guys who got a little tangled up and and Bo Horvat fell awkwardly. So, you know, no blame here. We’re not looking to blame anybody. It’s just that ultimately this is potentially season changing for the New York Islanders because Bo Horvat makes that top line go. He makes the power play go or or let’s even say he was a very big part of the success of the power play and he just is somebody who is one of the pillars one of the foundations of this team right now. So we have to wait and see. We cannot do anything else at this point. You know why saying it was daytoday is a little optimistic but again that’s the preliminary thing. How many times in the past have we heard daytoday which then becomes week to week and then becomes LTIR. Now sometimes daytoday is daytoday uh you know so we have to wait and see but potentially losing Bo Horvat is losing you know 20% of your goal output so far this season. losing the leadership, losing a great faceoff player, losing somebody who everybody on this team looks up to and respects, and someone who is, I would say, by far, the most consistent player on this team. He’s on pace for 50 freaking goals for crying out loud. And to lose that just when this team is on a winning streak and and hitting its stride, that would be really really painful. And this team, this organization would have a lot of hard decisions to make. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that. We’ve got more to get to on today’s show. We’re going to talk more about this win. So many good things happened and hopefully this uh scare is just a scare. But we’ll have our hero and go to the game. We’ll talk about Andrew Lee’s big performance and uh a lot more. We’ll also preview Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And for our Islanders birthday the day, I’m just going to say it straight out. the all-time best goalie in Islanders history, the only goalie uh that the who was predominantly an Islander who was in the hockey hall of fame. All that and more next on today’s Lock on Islanders podcast. Today’s episode is brought to you by your friends at FanDuel. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s when that’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. And look, live betting is best when the game starts to shift, a receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover. FanDuel lets you jump into the moment. Live spreads and money lines adjust instantly. Player props update as guys heat up. And you can bet next touchdown scorers, drive results, totals, and more. It keeps you locked into every snap, every drive, and every possibility. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast and so can you. Thank you for making Locked on Islanders your first listen of the day. You already love your team. Now take it up a level and go ad free. Join the Everydayer Club today and get locked on Islanders with no interruptions. Members only Discord access and more. All for just $5 a month or for $50 a year. Those of you on YouTube can see it’s lockedpodcast.com everyday. So check things out over there or visit the link in the show notes to learn more. What a game for Anders Lee. The only bad part is he missed a shot at a hattick with uh an empty net at the other end. Lee with a four-point night scored on both of his shots. And again with Anders Lee, as it is with a lot of these players, it’s it’s something I’ve said every day know the net and good things happen. And both of Ander Anders Lee’s goals, one was a deflection, great hand eye coordination on that, one was a rebound. uh you gotta go to the net, you gotta make things difficult for the goalie. And that’s exactly what Anders Lee did and it paid off handsomely. Other piece of good news, by the way, from this game, JG Pacio, he had an assist. He was a plus one, but he looked better skatingwise certainly than he was on Tuesday night. And that’s to be expected. you come back from an injury, you’re a little tentative. You’re not sure whether the body is going to hold up when you get hit. Overall, though, uh, great to see Pasio playing better. And how about Simon Holmstrom? You know, I I I said it earlier this week. everydayers will recall. He has the skill, he has the speed, he has a good shot, he has to believe in it and and and be a little more confident in his game. Well, this goal that Simon Holstrom scored and he was a plus two and he had a goal and two assists in this game. The goal that he scored was a combination of speed and confidence and he, you know, beat a player around the end and beat the goalie to the far post and tucked the puck home. That was absolutely beautiful to see. So hopefully this gives Holstrom a jolt of confidence and he can continue to to be more productive offensively because especially if Bo Horvat is out, they’re going to need it. And then Ryan Polock getting off the schneide with this goal. Uh kind of a lucky goal, you know, deflects off either a skate or a stick of an Anaheim player, but come on. I mean, Pock had 15 assists in 31 games coming into this one, but no goals. He has been playing much better hockey this year, and it just didn’t happen that pucks were going in the net. So, getting him off the schneide was great. And then again getting Travis Mitchell his first NHL goal, his first NHL point. You you love those stories. It was a great goal. He made a really nice play on it. And you know that that goal will get more and more spectacular over time as he continues to tell us about it uh as he gets older. But overall, the Islanders were fast. They were decisive. They were rushing the puck well with the exception of the short-handed goal they gave up. Their defense was good. And David Riddick, what more can you say? Give credit to David Riddick. Give credit to Matthew Dar because we knew going into this season that Semian Varlamov may not be ready to start the season. may even not be able to come back at all. And we also knew based on last year we needed an upgrade over Marcus Hogberg. and to go out and add Riddick who has played really well. You you you know a 939 save percentage in this game for David Riddick who just played really really solid hockey. And you know coming into this game he had a 265 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. Both of those numbers are going to improve after this performance. So, just a great overall team win from pretty much start to finish. So many things that you could call highlights in this game. And yet, again, the potential injury to Bo Horvat just kind of casts a little bit of a shadow over everything. And uh I really wanted to see Lee get the hat-tick. You know, he had a shot at that open net and he just seemed a little too anxious. Like he was like, “Okay, I’m going to be careful. I’m going to shoot the puck. I’m not going to shoot it too hard.” Once you’re thinking that much, it ain’t going in. You know, it’s just not going in. So, unfortunately, he missed, I think, two pretty good opportunities uh into an empty net. The Ducks pulling their goalie with about three and a half, four minutes left in the game. And again, the Islanders six on five. Casey Sazika seems to be the only guy who could put the puck in the net and he did not do that today. But a good win. This team is playing some pretty darn good hockey as of late. And you know, it is so good to see this team playing this way and and and look look at what they’ve done in the month of December, beating Tampa Bay, beating Colorado, beating Tampa Bay again, a loss to Florida in a backtoback, and then beating Vegas and Anaheim. the top two teams in the Pacific Division. Uh an a really really great run right now and hopefully they can keep it going because this team is really exciting to watch. They’re playing good hockey. You got like anytime Matthew Schaefer touches the puck, you hear it in the crowd. He makes moves and plays that are just great. The power play which scored those, you know, two power play goals with Schaefer quarterbacking that power play in the first period. They were moving the puck so well and creating so many scoring chances and they finished. I mean, wow, how great was that? This team can get better if they stay relatively healthy. They have not reached their ceiling and it’s just exciting to watch this team again. It hasn’t been in a long time. So, I I’m just thrilled again. Just hoping Bo Horvette is going to be okay. More to get to on today’s show. We’ll preview the third and final matchup between the Islanders and the Lightning. That’s this Saturday afternoon. And we’ll have our Islanders birthday of the day, a Hall of Fame goalie. Let’s see if you guessed it. All that and more still to come on today’s Locked on Islanders podcast. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch. The holidays are amazing, but they can also get overwhelming fast. Travel, gifts, parties, year-end expenses. It’s really easy to lose track of your money this time of year. And that’s exactly why Monarch has become such a gamecher for me. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It’s rated Wall Street Journal’s best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, simple dashboard. The holiday spending category can become a lifesaver. You can see exactly what’s left in your gift and travel budget in real time. And it’s great for couples. Shared dashboard shared goals and fewer weight. How much did we spend? Conversations. So, don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code locked on NHL at monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code locked on NHL. The Islanders have Friday off and then they return to action against the Tampa Bay Lightning. third time in about 12 days that they’re facing the Bolts. They’ve beaten them the first two. You know, Matthew Dar, who worked for the Lightning organization before joining the Islanders, would love to sweep the season series. We also know that that’s not an easy thing to do because the Lightning, even though they have been struggling lately, uh although they did trounce the Devils 8 to4 on Thursday night, uh it is not an easy time right now for the Tampa Bay Lightning in part due to uh some injuries that they had suffered. And you know, Johansson again the goalie gave up four goals but Nikita Cucherov had four assists and Borkstrand had two goals and an assist in the game. So you know this team is dangerous even if they are slumping and you have to sort of uh respect what they can do. Uh, we’ve discussed the Lightning several times, so I’m going to just go through the latest line combinations. Anthony Cerelli, Brandon Hegel, and Nikita Couturov at the top line. Braden Point, Jake Gunel, and Oliver Borkstrand, a very dangerous second line. Yanni Gourd, Pontis Holberg, and Zmus Gurgensson to the third line. And on the fourth line, it’s Nick Paul centering Curtis Douglas and Scott Sabarin. on the blue line. Uh, as of right now, still no Victor Hedman. So, we look at JJ Moser and Darren Radish on the top pair. Uh, Charlie Edward Dastu and Amy Leberg on the second pair and then Declan Carile and Maxwell Croer on the third pair. The goalies Johansson and Brandon Halverson again. Uh right now, Vazalefki on IR, Ryan Mcdana on IR, Victor Hedman out and on IR, and Eric Cernac day. So, the injuries hurting right now. The Tampa Bay Lightning, can the Islanders sweep the series? They’re at home. I think they can. Will they have Bo Horvat? We still don’t know. Uh will they be getting Jonathan Druan back? He is again dayto-day and there are you know reports that he could be back on the ice on Saturday and you know Drew Anne is more of a setup guy than a goalcorer. So the skill set replacement for Horvat would not be identical but obviously having a speedy skilled top six caliber forward back in the lineup would at least be helpful. And even if Horvat is available, you know, adding Drew Anne back to the lineup would certainly help. And we’ll keep you up to date on that and his status uh as soon as we hear something from the Islanders. Time now for our Islanders birthday of the day. And uh well today is the 75th birthday of former Islanders goalie Billy Smith. The Perth Ontario native 510 a buck 75 a fifth round pick of the LA Kings in 1970. Not a lot of people know he played five games for the Kings in 7172 and then uh joined the Islanders in the expansion draft in 7273. won four cups with the Islanders. Obviously, you look at his final career numbers, the 318 goals against average, an 895 save percentage, it doesn’t scream Hall of Fame, but the bigger the game, the better Billy Smith played. He was combative. Nobody wanted to go in front of his crease because they knew his stick was going to uh be introduced to them by the battling goalie. And he was clutch. He was tough and he belongs in the Hall of Fame by any metric. We’re gonna go back and look at his first career playoff shutout because he was uh a great playoff goalie. April 18th, 1979, Islanders hosting the Chicago Blackhawks in the quarterfinal round. Best of seven series, Islanders up one game to none. And the goalies are two Hall of Famers, Tony Espazito and Billy Smith. And the Islanders dominated this game. Outshot the Blackhawks 40-22. But the game went to overtime, tied at zero as both Billy Smith and Tony Espazito put on a goalending clinic. But in OT, Mike Bosi, his fourth of the playoffs from Brian Tracier and Clark Gillies, the trio grand line clicking for the gamewinner. And it was the first of many career shutouts for Billy Smith. He had 22 saves in this one. Billy Smith, the best goalie the New York Islanders ever had. He is our Islanders birthday of the day. Thank you for making Locked On Islanders your first listen every day. And uh did Locked On Islanders make your Spotify wrapped? Prove it on social media to secure a free month of our brand new Everydayer Club. Just tag our national Locked on Podcast Network account on any social platform. We’ll drop you a code. Be one of the first to join the Everydayer Club to get your favorite show. ad free and exclusive access to the membersonly Discord channel. For those of you on video, we send you over to the first ever 247 National Locked on Podcast Network YouTube channel on audio. Make sure you make your second listen locked on NHL game night. If you have a question, a comment, maybe a topic you’d like us to discuss on a future episode, email us at lockedon [email protected]. If you leave your first name and where you’re from, we’re happy to mention you on the show when we discuss whatever’s on your mind. You could follow the show on X at Locked on Island Isles. You could follow me, Gil Martin, on X at Icew Wars, NYRVSNY. We’ll keep you up to date on all things Islanders all year long. And I’m live tweeting during nearly every Islanders home and road game. So join me for a little instant insight and analysis. And it’s great to talk Island Islanders hockey with you game time or anytime. Everydayers, we are back Monday. We will have our key takeaways from the game against the Lightning. We will also hopefully have some injury updates and we will do a one minute video after the Lightning game and if there’s any significant news on Bo Horvat. So stay with us here at Locked on Islanders. Until then, have a great weekend everybody. Stay safe and of course, let’s go Islanders.

The New York Islanders score a commanding 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, but Bo Horvat’s alarming injury threatens to shake the team’s season. Can the Islanders maintain their momentum if their leading goal scorer is sidelined long-term?

Gil Martin breaks down the Islanders’ standout performance, spotlighting Anders Lee’s four-point night, Travis Mitchell’s first NHL goal, and Simon Holmstrom’s confident offense. The episode examines the “hold your breath moment” surrounding Horvat’s status, discusses the power play’s resurgence, and analyzes Matthew Darche’s roster options if Horvat misses time. Key topics include David Rittich’s stellar goaltending, injury updates, and how upcoming clashes with the Tampa Bay Lightning could define the team’s playoff push. Plus, a tribute to Hall of Fame goaltender Billy Smith highlights the franchise’s storied legacy.

Will New York’s scoring depth and resilience be enough, or is a major shakeup looming?

All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.

Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub 

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at https://monarch.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.

FanDuelToday’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOIslanders?sid=YouTube

Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL

And follow the show and Gil Martin on Twitter where he’ll share the latest news on your New York Islanders and will talk with fans like you.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/LockedOnIsles
and https://twitter.com/icewarsnyrvsnyi

#Islanders #NYIslanders #NHL