Islanders leave injured Bo Horvat in New York for…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Islanders reversed their plan to have Bo Horvat journey on your complete seven-game street journey that began in Nashville on Thursday, instead leaving the centerman behind in New York where it’s simpler for him to get treatment on his lower-body injury, common supervisor Mathieu Darche said Thursday before the Islanders’ 2-1 shootout defeat to Predators.
At least in Darche’s telling, it was not made to sound like a setback for Horvat. The door is still open for Horvat to be part of the two-week journey in progress, or even play by the end of it.
“I definitely expect him [back] way before the Olympic break,” Darche said of Horvat, who will characterize Team Canada in Milan. “I’d like to at the end of this trip. If it’s not, it’s not the end of the world. If it is, good for us. We want to make sure we do it right so he doesn’t take a step back.”
Bo Horvat defends during the Islanders’ blowout loss to the Mammoth on Jan.1, 2026 at UBS Arena. Getty Images
If Horvat does meet the Islanders someplace down the road, Darche said it could presumably be in the second half of the journey.
Horvat’s current injury, which seemed to be associated to his left facet, is “similar without necessarily being linked” to the issue that stored him out for 5 video games in December before he obtained harm again on New Year’s Day, Darche said.
“Our doctors think there’s a strong chance it would’ve happened [either way],” Darche said. “He didn’t come back too early. That was his [fourth] game, even the last few days [beforehand] he wasn’t getting treatment on the previous injury. It’s just bad luck that it happened to the same part of the body.”
Defenseman Isaiah George, who has been dealing with a lower-body injury at Bridgeport, is meant to play this weekend, according to Darche.
Alexander Romanov (proper shoulder) has not yet began to skate on his own. Darche said he’s “progressing really, really well” and there may be a likelihood Romanov might return for a potential playoff run.
Whether Semyon Varlamov ever returns from a knee injury, and when that could be, stays unclear. Varlamov continues to work on his own and has not too long ago began dropping into a stance more, but Darche said the Russian just isn’t factoring into his planning at the goaltender place.
“His situation won’t affect what I do with David [Rittich] right now because we don’t have an endgame right now with Varly,” Darche said.
Like Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Darche hasn’t yet began discussing an extension with Rittich, who was signed to a one-year deal last offseason.
Rittich obtained the start in web against the Predators. Coach Patrick Roy said the Islanders determined he would play before Ilya Sorokin returned from injury with a 44-save shutout Tuesday, not wanting to overload Sorokin straight away.
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