PHILADELPHIA — Bo Horvat found some relief following his Islanders debut in Monday night’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers, but there’s one more debut he’ll have to hurdle on Tuesday — his home debut at UBS Arena against the Seattle Kraken.
“I’m probably going to feel the same amount of nerves and butterflies playing in front of the home crowd for the first time,” Horvat said. “It’s going to be exciting. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve only played in the building once but on the other side of it so I’m excited to be on the home side this time.”
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He certainly showed promise in his team debut against the Flyers, posting four shots with two high-danger chances while playing alongside Mathew Barzal on a first line that hadn’t shown this type of offensive malice all season.
That’s the byproduct of acquiring the type of high-level goal scorer that the organization has starved for — and the appreciation of his mere existence will be portrayed by a fan base that appears to be just as rejuvenated as the Islanders that share a locker room with Horvat.
“It’s going to be great. I think the fans are going to be excited, and they should be,” Horvat said. “We got a great player and I’m sure he’s going to have a lot of great moments at UBS.”
Not to be lost in the occasion is the fact that the Islanders are still on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They’re tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second and final Wild Card spot, but the Islanders have played four more games.
“He’s a professional. I think he’ll handle it just fine,” head coach Lane Lambert said. “Our fans are great. It’s going to be exciting to get in front of them. They always give us a boost and certainly coming into a back to back, we’re going to need that. So we’re looking forward to getting home.”
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