It’s been over two years since the Vancouver Canucks traded their former captain, Bo Horvat, to the New York Islanders. Since being moved, Horvat has faced his former team four times, with tonight’s game being his fifth. Let’s take a look at how he has fared against the team that drafted him. 

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As a refresher, Horvat was traded to the Islanders on January 30, 2023, and suited up for his first game with New York on February 6 (though he represented the Islanders at NHL All-Star weekend). During the 49 games that he played with Vancouver during this season, he matched his career-high of 31 goals at the time, and put up 23 assists. He later broke both of these personal records in the 2023–24 season. His trade came as a result of J.T. Miller’s contract signing during the 2022 offseason, which left the team with the option to trade Horvat ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. 

The former Canucks captain’s first game against Vancouver took place two games after his Islanders debut, on February 9. Vancouver took a 6–5 win with a game-winning goal from Anthony Beauvilier, one of three pieces that came back to the Canucks for Horvat. In 21:12 minutes played, Horvat scored a goal and grabbed an assist off a goal by Noah Dobson. He had four shots on net and won 10 of the 18 faceoffs he took. Interestingly enough, in each of his games against the Canucks, Horvat has faced off against a different goaltender. In this game, he played Collin Delia. 

Horvat’s next game against the Canucks didn’t come until November 15, 2023, in his first match back at Rogers Arena since being moved. Despite some comments that upset Vancouver fans during the Islanders’ playoff run in April 2023, the fans welcomed him back as if he were still a Canuck. Though he scored a goal against former teammate Thatcher Demko, Vancouver took the game 4–3 in overtime with a goal from the new and current captain Quinn Hughes. In the loss for his team, Horvat put up three shots, a faceoff win rate of 35.7%, one hit, one block, and one takeaway in 22:16. 

The next time Vancouver and New York played, the Canucks headed to Horvat’s new home rink at UBS Arena. Consistent with the rest of their games against the Islanders, Vancouver won yet again in a 5–2 effort backstopped by former Canuck Casey DeSmith. This time, Horvat went without a point, but registered one shot and a 65% faceoff win percentage. He played 18:46 of the game. 

On November 14, 2024, New York won their first game against Vancouver since acquiring Horvat. They took a decisive 5–2 victory against Kevin Lankinen and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, the latter of which scored his first NHL goal during this game. Horvat had two assists in this effort, coming off goals from Scott Mayfield and Anders Lee. He also put up two shots and seven wins on 11 draws in 17:53. 

Both the Islanders and the Canucks are in compromising positions right now, as are most other teams at this time of the year. Vancouver is five points back of a playoff spot with two games in hand, while the Islanders are one point back. With how intense every game has been in the past week, you won’t want to miss the action tonight. Catch the game on Sportsnet at 4:30 pm PT. 

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The Vegas Golden Knights thrashed the Minnesota Wild 5-1 thanks to a hat trick from Jack Eichel and a milestone-setting goal from Brett Howden. 

Eichel and Tomas Hertl have not only been two of the hottest players on the Golden Knights, but two of the hottest players in the NHL. With Tomas Hertl out for at least a week, the Golden Knights were in search of more goal-scoring, and Eichel stepped up.

Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev lead the team with 30 goals, and Eichel looks poised for a late push to steal that crown. The 28-year-old opened the scoring in the first period, finishing off a neat behind-the-back pass by captain Mark Stone. 

He'd added his second of the game in the third period with his patent shot from the half wall on the power play. Very few players in the NHL can load up a one-timer like Eichel can, but on this goal he didn't need to. He corralled the puck and fired a wrist shot into the top corner. 

With the Golden Knights up 4-1, Eichel was sprung on a 2-on-1 and beat former Golden Knights Marc-Andre Fleury through the legs to complete the hat trick, bringing him up to 26 goals, now just four back of the team lead. 

HAVE A NIGHT, EICHEL‼️

Jack Eichel registers his first hatty of the season!

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @astrazenecauspic.twitter.com/1n6CE3MmjZ

— NHL (@NHL) March 26, 2025

"He's just a good player, he stands out every night," said HC Bruce Cassidy. "There was a little fatigue a month ago coming out of the tournament, and he seems to have found his rhythm again."

Eichel deservedly took the headlines, but Howden's second-period tally did not go unnoticed. The former 2016 first-round pick has obliterated his previous career-highs and has reached the 20-goal milestone for the first time in his career. 

His 34 points ranked eighth on the team, and his 20 goals are equal with Ivan Barbashev for the fourth most. 

The 26-year-old was drafted into the NHL for his two-way game and high work ethic, but also for his point production in the juniors. He was never able to carve out a role with the New York Rangers, but things began to click for Howden when he joined the Golden Knights.

He found his spot playing in the bottom six, providing energy and speed to go along with his defensive acumen at 5-on-5 and the penalty kill.

"That's good for Howie," said Cassidy. "We use everywhere in the lineup, and he doesn't always get the glory offensive spots and o-zone starts, he doesn't get any power play time, so good on him. It was a hard-working goal and that tends to be a lot of his goals."

Multiple key contributors exited the organization in the previous offseason, which opened up space for Howden to garner a larger role. 

His 14:51 of ice time is the highest of his Golden Knights tenure, and Cassidy has trusted Howden to play up and down the line, as well as in the middle of the ice or on the wing. He's become an indispensable player for the Golden, and it's why he was given a five-year contract. 

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