Horvat, Dobson lead Islanders to 3-2 win over Senators; Brannstrom taken to hospital
By Scott Charles, The Associated Press on October 26, 2023.
NEW YORK (AP) – Bo Horvat and Noah Dobson each had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders held on Thursday night for a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, who lost defenseman Erik Brannstrom to an injury that sent him to a hospital. Brannstrom was stretchered off the ice after a check along the boards from Cal Clutterbuck at 8:43 of the middle period. The team announced that Brannstrom was alert, had use of his extremities and would be evaluated further at a nearby hospital. “Scary, very scary,” Brady Tkachuk said. “It’s emotional, you never want to see it. Especially for as good of a guy as he is. … Kudos to the Islanders guys for coming over and checking on him. Says a lot about the group and the culture they have. I really appreciate them looking out for one of our players.” The veteran Clutterbuck was clearly upset about the way the play unfolded. “Hate to see it honestly, I’m sick to my stomach about it,” Clutterbuck said. “It’s not something I wanted to have happen. … We are all human beings here. I just don’t like it, it’s not good.” Clutterbuck also scored for New York. Ilya Sorokin made 46 saves, including one in the final seconds, as the Islanders snapped a three-game skid. Claude Giroux and Jacob Chychrun scored for Ottawa, which lost its third straight. Joonas Korpisalo finished with 35 saves. Dobson blasted a one-timer from the high slot at 6:45 of the third to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead. Horvat led the breakout and Mathew Barzal entered the offensive zone with speed before leaving a drop pass for Dobson. “He’s got a ton of speed that’s a threat to any D-man when he comes full at you, you got to respect that,” Dobson said of Barzal. “Especially after I missed the one the shift before, I wasn’t thinking about passing that one. Barzal put it right in the wheelhouse.” New York’s penalty kill limited the Senators to one power-play goal on eight opportunities. “They did a phenomenal job, made a ton of clears, a ton of blocks,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “Sorokin when we needed them, huge reason why we won tonight.” Horvat opened the scoring on the power play at 2:41 of the first period. Dobson recorded the primary assist and extended his point streak to five games. The Islanders extended their first-period lead to 2-0 when Clutterbuck buried a feed from Casey Cizikas at 13:05. The Senators scored twice within 5:33 in the middle of the second period. Chychrun evened the score as his shot sailed past the glove of Sorokin at 12:25. The 25-year-old defenseman made a move at the blue line to avoid Islanders forward Anders Lee and registered his fourth goal of the season. Giroux notched Ottawa’s first goal when he converted on a 4-on-3 power play at 6:52, firing a wrist shot through traffic past the blocker of Sorokin. “He’s one of the best goalies in the league, in the world,” Giroux said of Sorokin. “But saying that, we got to do a better job of challenging him. If he see’s it, he’s going to stop it. Power play needs to get a few there.” The Senators outshot the Islanders 17-10 in the second period. UP NEXT Senators: At Pittsburgh on Saturday. Islanders: At Columbus on Saturday. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl 24-23
