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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We don’t know where this season is headed, but if nothing else, it’s bound to be more interesting. The layoff, combined with the Bo Horvat trade, added to a level of anticipation, excitement, and nerves that hadn’t been felt in months ahead of last night’s 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Horvat put pressure on himself and was admittedly anxious for his first game as an Islander, calling his case of the nerves “awful.” He was kept off the scoresheet, but watching his shifts intently, you saw the “200-foot” player GM Lou Lamoriello raved about, one that mixed a responsible style of play with obvious playmaking ability. He found his way to the front of the net to deflect pucks and showed his strong body control and situational awareness, along with a quick shot.
"I'm not going to lie I was really nervous tonight. The guys made me feel really comfortable and they were great. You know, obviously it feels even better to get that win and get my legs under me." - Bo Horvat
The tandem of Horvat and Mathew Barzal showed promise, and as painful as it could be for some fans to admit, Josh Bailey might just work on that line too. Per Natural Stat Trick, the new top line outshot the Flyers 11-5 in 11:31 TOI together and had an expected goals percentage of 56.01.
"We could have had three or four," Barzal said. "Some good possession time. Good plays, it's nice just every time Bo had the puck… I had confidence that he was going to make a good play and he did. He won a lot of battles down low and got me the puck so yeah, I really enjoyed it tonight."
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