It felt like a given that the puck was going to end up in the back of the net when Bo Horvat received a pass from Kyle Palmieri alone between the circles in front of New Jersey Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom, and that’s exactly what happened.
The red-hot forward snapped a wrister that beat Markstrom blocker side to knot up Monday night’s affair at one goal apiece 6:55 into the second period for his sixth goal in as many games — something that has become a regular sight for the New York Islanders.
Horvat’s start to the 2025-26 season, though, has been anything but run-of-the-mill, even by his standards.
The veteran center, who has been a perennial 30-goal threat over the last five seasons, has 12 goals in his first 16 games. That’s a full-season pace of 61 goals. To properly quantify just how good a start this is, Horvat did not score his 12th goal of last season until Jan. 5. That puts him two months ahead of schedule on a season in which he ended with 28 goals.
Much of it centers around a lethal shot that has left his teammates in awe. Seven of Horvat’s goals this season have come from mid-range, which is between 29 and 43 feet from the center of the goal. Only Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon has more from that area (eight).
“He might be the best shooter in the world right now, and that’s not because he’s getting lucky,” Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said. “That’s because his shot is truly world-class. Any time he’s around the net or has a chance in the slot, it has a great chance of going in. None of it’s luck. It’s work, and he has an amazing shot.”
Horvat told amNewYork in late October that he was simply seeing an uptick in chances and taking more opportunities to shoot. Through 16 games, he is averaging 5.8 shot attempts per night. Over the first 11 years of his career, he averaged a shade over four attempts per game.
“He’s shooting with a lot of confidence, you could tell,” head coach Patrick Roy said. “He’s been playing really well.”
The Islanders have not had a 50-goal scorer since Pierre Turgeon in 1992-93. Mike Bossy is the only player in franchise history to score 60 goals in a season, and he did that four times. Something to remember should Horvat’s torrid pace continue.
For more on Bo Horvat and the Islanders, visit AMNY.com
