Horvat vows to 'be better' after Islanders drop Game 4
After dropping Sunday's Game 4 to the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat is determined to prove he has more to give with his team on the brink of elimination.
"I think I can be a lot better, to be honest with you," he told reporters following the 5-2 defeat that gave Carolina a 3-1 series lead. "I think I'm doing a lot of good things away from the puck and winning my faceoffs and doing all that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day, I've gotta find ways to score big goals or get on the scoresheet not in a 5-1 game or 5-2 game.
"I've gotta find ways to make it meaningful. I've gotta be better."
Horvat scored a shorthanded tally with just over two minutes remaining in the contest, but the damage had already been done as the Hurricanes held onto their three-goal lead to close out the rest of the game.
The goal marked Horvat's first point in these playoffs. The 28-year-old has won a team-high 55% of his faceoffs and is a plus-2 through the series while averaging 19:38 of ice time.
This is Horvat's third appearance in the postseason. He made it as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in 2015 and 2020, pitching in 16 points in 23 games across those two runs.
Horvat enjoyed a career year in the 2022-23 regular season, potting 38 goals and 70 points in 79 games with the Canucks and Islanders. However, his production dipped once New York acquired him from Vancouver in late January in exchange for forwards Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a conditional first-round pick:
| Team | GP | G | P | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canucks | 49 | 31 | 54 | 1.10 |
| Islanders | 30 | 7 | 16 | 0.53 |
The Islanders signed him to an eight-year, $68-million extension shortly after bringing him into the fold.
Horvat has advanced past the first round of the playoffs only once in his career, and the Islanders need to take Tuesday's Game 5 in Raleigh for him to get a chance at another taste.
"We gotta play desperate. I mean, at the end of the day, it's win or go home, you're done," Horvat said. "We gotta play with that mindset and play smart about it and be ready to go here in a couple days."