As the Islanders head into the postseason for the second consecutive year against the Carolina Hurricanes, the team needs to have a big postseason performance from Bo Horvat. Horvat’s leadership presence and natural goal-scoring abilities have the potential to provide a significant boost for the Islanders.

Last season, at about the halfway mark of the NHL season, the Islanders decided to shake things up. The Islanders traded fan favorite Anthony Beauvillier as well as Aatu Raty and a conditional first-round draft pick to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for their 28-year-old captain Bo Horvat.

The Canucks captain had 54 points in 49 games with the Canucks before his blockbuster trade to Long Island. Horvat’s initial performance after arriving on Long Island was lackluster. When Horvat arrived on Long Island amid the 2022-23 season, it was the sixth season in nine, thus far, in which he scored 20-plus goals in a season.

However, in the final half of his season with the Islanders, Horvat only recorded 16 points. Horvat’s goal differential dropped significantly after arriving on Long Island. After scoring 31 goals in the first 49 games, Horvat finished the season with just seven goals in the last 30 games. Horvat’s struggles continued into the playoffs as well.

Horvat’s round-one playoff performance against the Hurricanes in 2023 was also very disappointing. In the six-game series, Horvat only managed to score once goal throughout the entire series and recorded one assist. Horvat’s two points were very underwhelming.

 Horvat was not the only Islanders player to disappoint. Mathew Barzal, who arguably was not at 100% due to the injury sustained towards the end of the season, only scored two goals throughout the entire six-game series.

After the Islanders’ 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes at home last year in Game 4, putting the Islanders down in the series three games to one, Kevin Kurz from the Athletic wrote:

“But that doesn’t mean the top players can just disappear. At some point, they have to make their mark on the series. And the fact that Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, two-thirds of the top line and two guys who have monster contract extensions kicking in next season, have done next to nothing through four games of the Islanders’ first-round series with Carolina is arguably the biggest reason their season is on the brink.”

Horvat’s lack of offensive production was even more disappointing because of his production during the playoffs when he was on the Canucks.

Four seasons earlier, during the 2019-20 playoffs with the Canucks, Horvat contributed an impressive 10 goals in 17 playoff games. Putting this in perspective, during the Islanders’ 2021 postseason run in which they went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the most goals an individual player scored on the Islanders was seven goals. Both Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri scored seven goals in 19 games.

Despite Horvat’s struggles last season, the forward has had a very impressive year this season. In fact, the 2023-2024 season, thus far, has been Horvat’s best year of his NHL career season. The 29-year-old forward recorded a career-high 33 goals and 35 assists. Moreover, Horvat also recorded a career-high in total shots on goal during a season with 245 and the most game-winning goals of his career with six. Horvat is a crucial component of the Islanders’ offense this season.

A significant reason for Horvat’s boost in offensive production is he is playing more with Islanders forward Mathew Barzal. Last season, during the 2022-23 season, Horvat and Barzal were only on the ice together in games for 89 minutes, as per Natural Stat Trick. Horvat did not get traded to the Islanders until the end of January, and Barzal missed the final 23 games of the regular season due to a lower-body injury.

However, this past 2023-24 season, Horvat and Barzal have been on the ice together for over 930 minutes, as per Natural Stat Trick. Barzal has assisted 20 of Horvat’s 33 goals this season. Moreover, Barzal assisted on 60% of Horvat’s goals this season.

Despite Horvat and Barzal’s postseason struggles last year, the Islanders still managed to take the Hurricanes, a team that finished 20 points ahead of them in the standings, to six games. If Horvat and Barzal can continue their chemistry from this season into the playoffs, the Islanders may pose a bigger threat to the Hurricanes than expected.

Featured image courtesy of Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP