The New York Islanders secured a 2-1 overtime victory against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at SAP Center, ending their two-game losing streak. Bo Horvat scored his third overtime winner of the season at 4:20 in the extra period, finishing a breakaway set up by Matthew Schaefer.
Tony DeAngelo gave the Islanders an early lead with a goal in the first period. The Sharks tied it just 33 seconds into the second period when Macklin Celebrini scored his 32nd goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith. Goaltender Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 of 31 shots for New York, while Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves on 34 attempts for San Jose.
With this win, the Islanders now have 77 points and move into second place in the Metropolitan Division, surpassing the Pittsburgh Penguins who lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout. The Islanders improved their record to 9-0 in games decided in overtime this season and remain unbeaten in overtime contests—no other team has yet matched that mark. The Sharks have more overtime wins overall than New York.
“We’ve been good in overtime all year, and it was a huge second point for us,” DeAngelo said. “Massive points. You take four or five of those away, you’re in a much different spot.”
Horvat’s latest overtime goal is his eighth since the start of last season, tying him with Kirill Kaprizov and Cole Caufield for third most over that span. “Schaefer had a great heads up play to get that to me, I just tried to carry my speed from the neutral zone as best I could,” Horvat said.
Brayden Schenn debuted for New York on Saturday night, playing over seventeen minutes and recording three shot attempts while skating alongside Cal Ritchie and Ondrej Palat. He also contributed defensively and set up screens on scoring plays. “I think I felt more and more comfortable as the game wore on,” Schenn said. “Just with the new system and everything. I tried to get myself in the game, especially a new team, tried to lay a couple hits and had a few chances.”
Coach Patrick Roy commented positively on his team’s effort late in regulation: “He played really well again, he’s been playing some really good hockey since the start of the season,” Roy said about Adam Pelech after another strong defensive performance.
The Islanders’ penalty kill was crucial throughout; they killed off penalties including one at end of regulation which helped maintain momentum leading into their winning sequence. “They have a very good power play, and that kill helped Tony score that one,” Roy said. “But nothing is more sweet than what we did in the third and beginning of the overtime.”
The Islanders will finish their road trip with a matchup against St. Louis Blues next.
