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 a scary injury. 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 was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. 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. New York’s penalty kill limited the Senators to one power-play goal on eight opportunities. 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. 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 18