Bo Horvat is giving the Islanders exactly what they hoped for when they handed him the captaincy: production, leadership and a start that’s hard to ignore.
After 10 games, Horvat sits at five goals and five assists for 10 points. That’s a point per game, and it’s enough to make people around the team start asking a bigger question: can he keep this up?
The short answer is that there’s reason to believe he can at least flirt with it. Horvat already has a track record that says the offense is real.
In 2022-23, he reached career highs with 38 goals and 70 points in 79 games while splitting time between the Vancouver Canucks and the Islanders. That kind of season doesn’t happen by accident, and it hints at the ceiling he can reach when things are clicking.
The other factor is role. A lot of Horvat’s career has been shaped by coaches using him as a defensive forward first.
That makes sense given how complete his game is, but it also meant he wasn’t always put in the most favorable spot to pile up points. Under Peter DeBoer, though, he’s carried a little less defensive load and has been asked to drive things more as the Islanders’ top-line center.
That shift matters. In this setup, Horvat has a real chance to look like more than a steady two-way center. He could turn into a true high-end scorer.
Even if a full point-per-game season feels ambitious, Horvat is already moving toward new career-best numbers across the board. He has been steady enough to suggest another 30-goal season is well within reach, and there’s nothing about the way he’s been playing that rules out 40 goals. He has also looked effective with whichever wingers have been riding alongside him.
The bigger number to watch is points. Could Horvat get to 80?
That’s very much in play. And if the Islanders find a more consistent rhythm, and with two extra games on the schedule this season, even a run toward 100 points isn’t impossible to imagine.
That may be getting ahead of things, but the recent stretch has given Islanders fans something to hold onto. The offense has not been as difficult to find as it was at times before, even if some nights have still turned into grind-it-out games.
And there’s one more wrinkle to come: Mathew Barzal’s return. When that happens, there will be a clear temptation to stack him with Horvat on the top line. If that combination comes together, it could open the door to a real scoring surge - one that might push the Islanders right to the top of the Metro Division.
In Other News...
Islanders Can Prove A Lot Fast On This Road Trip
A tough early test is waiting as the Islanders head out on a road trip that opens against the Dallas Stars and continues in Minnesota, with both opponents viewed as Stanley Cup contenders. It is the kind of trip that can tell a team plenty about itself in a hurry, especially for a club that has started 5-3-2 and is trying to keep building while away from home.
Dallas brings an added layer of intrigue because it is Peter DeBoers first game against his former team, and the matchup carries some extra edge with Mikko Rantanen in the picture. The Islanders will also have to navigate the trip short-handed up front, with several forwards out injured, so the challenge is not just the quality of the opposition but the depth test that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Are Surviving One Problem Better Than Anyone Expected
The Islanders latest overtime loss to the Kings did little to change the bigger picture around them, because the early-season storyline still centers on how quickly they have settled into Peter DeBoers new system. New York is 5-3-2 and sitting in a playoff spot in the Metro Division, a decent place to be after a stretch that has included key absences and plenty of lineup juggling. Mathew Barzal and Alexander Romanov have both been out, and the team has had to keep building chemistry on the fly while trying to stay afloat on both ends of the ice.
Peter DeBoer has been encouraged by how fast the group has adapted, especially given the injury list and the disruption that comes with teaching a new structure in-season. The challenge now is whether the Islanders can keep holding their place in the standings while waiting for more bodies to return, because the margin for error gets thinner when the offense and defense are both short-handed. For now, the early response to the system has bought them time, even if the long-term test is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]