Horvat scores in OT, Islanders recover to defeat Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Bo Horvat scored 1:09 into overtime, and the New York Islanders recovered for a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Friday.

Horvat took a cross-ice pass from Mathew Barzal and scored on a one-timer from the bottom of the right face-off circle. Horvat's goal came after Jesper Bratt tied it 3-3 for the Devils at 18:31 of the third period with goalie Jake Allen pulled for the extra attacker.

"It feels so good," Horvat said. "I think we've been playing really good hockey. It's just a matter of it going in for us and it was a heck of a play by [Barzal] to get that over to me. It definitely gives us confidence going into Saturday night (against the Florida Panthers)."

Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves for the Islanders (3-2-2), who had lost two of their past three.

"I thought we played a good game and put ourselves in a good spot," Nelson said. "We'd like to close that out. I think we've said that enough times now to not give up that extra point to their team. But bouncing back and finding a way to get the second point is huge."

Bratt had a goal and an assist, and Nico Hischier and Curtis Lazar scored for the Devils (5-4-2), who have lost four straight (0-2-2) and were coming off a 5-3 loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Allen made 26 saves.

"Today we were chasing the game right from the get-go and that's a challenge, but guys stayed with it until the end, and I thought we got better as the game went on and we sort of adjusted back to the way this game was being played," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Listen, the League is hard. Tonight was our ninth game in the last 16 days. It's a tough schedule ... that's almost unheard of.

"We looked like a team who hasn't practiced much; we've had two practices in the last 16 days. All things considered, to see our team fight on the back to back, third game in four nights and make sure to get the point, those are all really encouraging."

Nelson gave New York a 1-0 lead at 1:23 of the first period, tipping a shot from the left face-off circle over the left shoulder of Allen. Defenseman Adam Pelech took the initial shot from the left point.

Hischier tied it 1-1 at 11:36 on a snap shot from the slot, his fifth goal in the past four games.

"Obviously, missing out on the two points is hard but we did a good job in fighting back to get into a position of getting one point," Bratt said. "I mean, towards the end of the season, that one point can make a big difference."

Anders Lee gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 14:03, scoring a power-play goal off a rebound outside the left post.

Lazar tied it 2-2 at 5:31 of the second period with his first goal of the season when Paul Cotter found him for a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle.

"I guess we're kind of in a little bit of a skid here, but it's just kind of that next-day-get-after-it mindset," Lazar said. "We're still trying to feed off each other and get that chemistry going with everyone but guys are buying in, guys are doing a good job. I think we've shown, too, that when we're on and it's clicking, we're a very hard team to beat."

Palmieri put New York back in front 3-2 at 11:28 on a deflection from the high slot off Alexander Romanov’s shot from the top of the left circle.

"There's a lot of positive in this game to me," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. "I mean, first of all, the two goals we scored with people in front of the net, we had two good screens. It was a great tip by [Nelson], and I think it was a great tip by [Palmieri]. We talk about that, so I'm very pleased with it. I didn't feel like we gave them a lot of chances."

NOTES: Horvat’s four overtime goals since the start of last season is tied for the most in the NHL with Kyle Connor. … Palmieri has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 12 games against the Devils since being traded by them to the Islanders on April 7, 2021. ... Bratt extended his assist streak to four games (four assists); his career high assist streak is five games (Oct. 13-25, 2023). ... The last time the Devils tied a game in the final 90 seconds of regulation was Dec. 27, 2023, in a 4-3 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.