Bo Horvat scores as New York Islanders beat Seattle Kraken
NEW YORK — Bo Horvat scored in his home debut with New York Islanders, leading his new team to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves in his fifth shutout this season and No. 15 for his career. Samuel Bolduc, Simon Holmstrom and Zach Parise also scored in New York's fourth straight win, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau added two assists.
"There is a lot of belief in this group, a lot of energy and you are seeing now a little bit of momentum," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "It's a tough game (for Seattle) coming out of the break, so we were able to take advantage of that."
The Islanders acquired Horvat in a blockbuster trade with Vancouver on Jan. 30. The All-Star center then agreed to a $68 million, eight-year contract on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Horvat skated in his first game with New York on Monday night, helping the Islanders to a 2-1 victory at Philadelphia.
He got his first goal with his new team 5:08 into the second period. Mathew Barzal stole the puck from Yanni Gourde in the offensive zone and set up Horvat for a one-timer.
Horvat's career-best 32nd goal of the season gave New York a 4-0 lead.
"I'm not going to lie, it definitely felt good," Horvat said. "I got to take a little bit of a deep breath. It felt even better to score it at home, then on top of that get the win, made it that much sweeter."
Martin Jones had 23 saves for the Pacific Division-leading Kraken, but Seattle dropped the opener of a five-game trip to begin the second half of the season.
"Too many mistakes that ended up in direct opportunities against," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "We could not find a way to give ourselves energy. One goal might have been able to change a little bit of momentum."
Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky left after his first shift with a lower-body injury.
Bolduc opened the scoring at 7:59 of the first period when his shot from the point found the back of the net. Lee and Kyle Palmieri screened Jones on Bolduc's first career goal.
"It's pretty nice, especially at home when you get the fans behind you," Bolduc said. "It's an amazing feeling."
Holmstrom made it 2-0 with a nifty forehand-backhand combination at 18:29. Pageau found the Swedish winger all alone in the slot from behind the net.
Parise masterfully redirected Pageau's shot past Jones to give New York a three-goal advantage 3:38 into the second.
New York improved to 22-5-2 when scoring at least three times, including shootout winners.
WORTH NOTING
Seattle defenseman Justin Schultz has returned to practice, but he did not dress. He has missed the team's previous six games and remains on injured reserve. ... D Scott Mayfield picked up his 100th career point on the opening goal. ... Mayfield and Ryan Pulock each skated in their 400th game, becoming the 51st and 52nd player in Islanders franchise history to reach that milestone. ... Kraken defenseman Will Borgen skated in his 100th NHL game.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Kraken: Visit New Jersey Devils on Thursday.