Bo Horvat ‘day to day’ following early exit with leg injury in Islanders latest blow

Just when it was going so well for the Islanders, they lost another key player to injury.

Bo Horvat left Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Ducks in the middle of the second period after taking an awkward fall while battling with Drew Helleson for the puck. He limped off while struggling to put weight on his left leg and went straight to the dressing room. He did not return to the game, with the Islanders announcing a lower-body injury.

“The only update I have is lower-body injury and he’s gonna be day to day,” coach Patrick Roy said after the game.

The Islanders are already without Kyle Palmieri (ACL) and Alexander Romanov (right shoulder) for the remainder of the season, and have dealt with short-term injuries to Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Jonathan Drouin.

Losing Horvat, whose 19 goals not only lead the team but are almost double anyone else’s total, would be extremely hard to recover from. The implication from Roy that it is a short-term injury at least sounds like the Islanders avoided a worst-case scenario.

“Obviously, when he doesn’t come back, it’s a big loss,” Ryan Pulock said. “A guy that does everything for us. Whatever it takes here, it’s a long year and you’re gonna need everyone to step up.”