Tuesday might rank amongst the more frustrating nights of Bo Horvat’s career.
Not only did he suffer a 12th straight game without a goal, but he caught the wrong end of a bad bounce in overtime — blocking a shot off his skate, which then caromed to Nick Suzuki for the game-winning goal.
That play, which sealed a 2-1 loss for the Islanders, is as unlucky as it gets. But that was not much comfort for Horvat.
“At the end of the day, I gotta put the puck in the net,” he said. “That’s what I’m here for. That’s part of my game. It’s who I am, too.
“I can say I’m getting chances all I want. At the end of the day, I gotta start putting it in the net. That’s on me.”
It’s probably not much of a coincidence that Horvat’s scoring drought has coincided with Mat Barzal being out — he’s scored just twice since Barzal got hurt — but that doesn’t change what the Islanders need from Horvat, a regular 30-goal scorer in the past.
If anything, it amplifies the need for him to score.
Horvat’s line, with Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom (who recently replaced Jean-Gabriel Pageau), has contributed regularly, with Lee’s 11 goals leading the Islanders.
This configuration, Horvat acknowledged, puts him in more of a distributing role than when he’s with Barzal.
Still, 12 games is a long time to go without a goal.
Isles coach Patrick Roy posited that it would be more productive for Horvat to focus on what he’s doing well.
“He’s putting too much pressure on himself scoring goals. Right now it’s his main focus,” Roy said. “Bo Horvat is a 200-foot player. It’s a guy that will get those chances and will get those goals. So I think right now, he’s focused on scoring goals. He should keep playing his game. They will come. When you do good things out there, good things will happen to you.”
That might help. But Horvat is not wrong to say that goal scoring is a big part of why he’s here.
And that whatever else he’s doing right, he needs to be putting pucks in the net.
“It’s bearing down. It’s getting the right bounce instead of the wrong one,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating, I’m not gonna lie. It’s not fun. My linemates are doing a great job scoring for me. If that means I have to pass and let them get all the goals, then so be it. As long as we win hockey games at the end of the day.”
