Horvat, Islanders recover for OT win against Bruins to end 3-game skid

Bo Horvat scored his second goal of the game at 3:10 of overtime, and the New York Islanders recovered for a 5-4 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston on Sunday.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin made a right pad stop, and Horvat picked up the rebound and beat Joonas Korpisalo on the breakaway to win it after David Pastrnak scored back-to-back goals in the third period to tie it 4-4.

“It definitely felt good,” Horvat said. “I feel like we've been playing pretty good hockey as of late, and we weren’t getting the results. And, finally, we got rewarded tonight, which definitely feels good. We had pretty much everybody going tonight, which was awesome. Sorokin was great again. It definitely feels good to get that one against those guys.”

Anders Lee also scored twice, and Ryan Pulock had a goal and two assists for the Islanders (15-18-7), who ended a three-game losing streak. Sorokin made 26 saves.

“We played good hockey two games in a row here. Tonight, we got rewarded,” Lee said. “I thought it was a full-team effort. It has to be in this building, especially against a team like Boston. The boys brought it, got it done, and it was just a great game. That’s a huge two points for us.”

Pastrnak scored twice in his second straight game, and Justin Brazeau and Cole Koepke also scored for the Bruins (20-17-5), who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and five of six (1-4-1). Korpisalo made 32 saves.

“I look at [this game] half-full,” Boston coach Joe Sacco said. “Considering the circumstances tonight, being down a couple of goals there and then fighting our way back there showed a good sign of resiliency for the team tonight. We would have liked to capture the extra point in overtime, but unfortunately we didn’t.”

Koepke gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 3:01 of the first period. Mark Kastelic sent the puck toward the low slot off the rush, and it bounced off Koepke's stick and then his shoulder before fluttering over Sorokin’s right arm and in.

The Islanders challenged for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice was upheld following video review.

Horvat tied it 1-1 with a short-handed goal just 21 seconds later while the Bruins were on the ensuing power play for delay of game against the Islanders. Pageau fed Horvat on the rush inside the left circle before his shot beat Korpisalo to the blocker-side post.

Pulock gave New York a 2-1 lead at 5:33 when his point shot knuckled in under Korpisalo’s glove.

Lee extended it to 3-1 at 4:11 of the second period. He beat Korpisalo high glove side on the rush from inside the left circle after Alexander Romanov sprung him and Noah Dobson on a 2-on-1.

“That first goal could have hurt us, and they got a power play out of that goal because we challenged it,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “But it was a great kill. We scored and it gave us some momentum, and then, we started throwing a lot of pucks at the net, and we scored that second one. I'm very happy with the game.

“We had what, 36-37 shots on net? We threw a lot of pucks at the net. We drove the net, and we had some very good looks. So, I'm very pleased with the effort and the kind of game that we played.”

Brazeau cut it to 3-2 at 10:18 of the second. Andrew Peeke’s pass from the right wall found Brazeau in the slot, and his one-timer beat Sorokin low blocker side.

Lee made it 4-2 with his second goal of the game at 3:41 of the third period. He made a forehand-backhand move in front to beat Korpisalo from the top of the crease following a Pulock pass from deep in the right circle.

Pastrnak answered 54 seconds later to cut it to 4-3. Pageau tried to go across the Islanders’ zone, but Morgan Geekie intercepted the pass before he found Pastrnak for the one-time finish from inside the left face-off circle at 4:35.

Pastrnak then tied it 4-4 at 12:42 with his second goal of the game. Pavel Zacha found Pastrnak at the blocker-side post for a tap-in, with Romanov caught facing the wrong way.

“I see it every day. [Pastrnak] is an awesome player,” Geekie said. “Maybe luck wasn’t on his side for a little while, but I think the chances have been there for him. Obviously, the numbers maybe aren’t what they have been in the past but we see the things he does on the ice and everything he brings away from the puck as well. It’s nice to see a couple go in, for sure.”

Sorokin denied Pastrnak at the 29-second mark of overtime on a backhand attempt on the breakaway.

NOTES: Islanders forward Hudson Fasching left the game at 7:38 of the third period after he took a hit from Kastelic along the neutral-zone boards and did not return. …Lee has five goals over his past five games. … Sorokin earned his 107th career win and passed Kelly Hrudey for sole possession of fourth place in Islanders history. … Pastrnak, who also scored twice against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, became the fourth player in Bruins history to score two-plus goals on back-to-back days on multiple occasions (also Jan. 7-8, 2023). The others: Phil Esposito (four times; most recent: Dec. 21-22, 1974), Cam Neely (March 18-19, 1995 and Jan. 8-9, 1992) and Leo Labine (Feb. 12-13, 1955 and March 9-10, 1957).