Bo Horvat scored 2:54 into overtime to give the New York Islanders a 3-2 victory against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Monday night.
Horvat OT goal Islanders vs. Stars
Horvat scored with an unassisted one-timer from inside the slot off an assist from Mathew Barzal.
“Every game here matters, and that was two crucial points today; now let’s take care of business against Detroit (Thursday).”
Ryan Pulock scored and assisted on Kyle MacLean’s goal for the Islanders (24-20-14), who have dropped five straight games (1-3-2). Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves.
“We’re just building something here, though there have been ups and downs throughout this season,” Pulock commented. “At times, we play well; other times, not so much. Tonight, however, was different; no ups or downs at all, even when our opponents got inside their zone for periods, but somehow we managed to remain structured and composed and find ways to finish off games successfully. “
Islanders vs. Stars Game Highlights
Logan Stankoven scored his inaugural NHL goal and contributed an assist, while Matt Duchene scored one for the Stars (35-16-9), who are 1-3-2 over their past six matches and feature Scott Wedgewood making 25 saves in goal.
“It was nice getting that first goal, and winning would have made for an ideal finale,” stated Stankoven in his second game as an Arsenal rookie. However, everything aside from winning was amazing – especially how great the crowd and fans treated me; [they were] really supportive throughout.”
At 15:59 of the first period, Pulock gave the Islanders their initial lead with a blocker-side shot from a high slot to Wedgewood that put him 1-0 ahead.
“Dallas is an extremely challenging team with tremendous depth and an intimidating back end, so coming here and taking this road win was hugely valuable for us,” New York forward Brock Nelson stated after the victory. “We did an outstanding job staying focused – now is all about stringing wins together as many times as we can.”
Islanders Performance against Stars
At 7:11 of the second period, Duchene tied it 1-1 when he scored on a power play goal after collecting a rebound at the bottom of the right face-off circle – his 800th NHL point (339 goals and 461 assists over 1,034 games).
“Tonight we were probably the better team; had many good looks; played most of the third and second periods at their end; our worst period may have been first; overtime is always unpredictable as is always discussed by us,” Duchene noted. There is no time for self-pity here, though, as Colorado awaits them tomorrow in another monumental matchup for both clubs.
At 15:24, MacLean gave the Islanders their second lead of the period with his rebound pushed directly into the slot by Pierre Engvall.
“Every line contributed something,” New York coach Patrick Roy commented after their victory against New Jersey on January 15. The line featuring MacLean, Matt Martin, and Cal Clutterbuck played well, forechecking hard while getting the puck out. Our defense did its job as well; Engvall stood out with an outstanding game, playing well, skating well, and dominating on his position on the ice; I was very satisfied.”
At 18:17, Stankoven evened up the score at 2-2 by scoring from within traffic at the bottom left face-off circle off a pass from Wyatt Johnston and from inside traffic from underneath his left face-off circle off an assist from Wyatt Johnston. Stankoven has tied with Texas for most points scored this season (57 in 47 games total).
“Our first period was not great, and it took some time, but eventually we came together as a unit and worked our way into it,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer stated after their loss against Colorado. They had opportunities in the third to put themselves ahead; they had one breakaway, which hit the crossbar. Worked hard enough (despite scoring short) to either score goals or draw penalties as time ticked down, and they didn’t.
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