Lee, Horvat lead Islanders to 3-1 win over slumping Oilers
By By: Scott Charles, The Associated Press on December 19, 2023.
NEW YORK (AP) – Anders Lee and Bo Horvat scored power-play goals and the New York Islanders beat the slumping Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Tuesday night. Simon Holmstrom scored his league-leading fifth short-handed goal and Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots as the Islanders snapped a two-game skid. Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton and Stuart Skinner made 17 saves in the Oilers’ third straight loss. The Oilers opened the scoring 1:23 into the first period when Draisaitl surprised Sorokin with a shot from the left faceoff circle. It was his 13th of the season. The Islanders then scored three times in the second period. Lee tied the score at 2:39 as Kyle Palmieri’s shot squeaked through Skinner’s pads, and Lee buried the loose puck for his eighth. Brock Nelson found Horvat in the slot and slid a puck from the side to set up his teammate to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead with 8 1/2 minutes left. It was Horvat’s 13th and extended his career-high point streak to 11 games. Holmstrom hammered a one-time pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau with 5:50 left after Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made an errant pass in the offensive zone to lead to the odd-man rush. Edmonton had a chance to pull within one goal but failed to execute on a 58-second, two-man advantage and only generated one shot attempt on goal following Holmstrom’s goal. The Oilers finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid was held off the scoresheet, ending his 12-game point streak. Islanders forward Julien Gauthier left the game early in the second period and did not return. UP NEXT Oilers: At New Jersey on Thursday night. Islanders: At Washington on Wednesday night. — AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL 18-17
