3 Lineup Options For Islanders When Bo Horvat Returns
How will head coach Patrick Roy configure his lineup when his leading scorer is ready to return from his lower-body injury?
New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury, but the hope is that he’ll be able to return to the lineup on Saturday afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres — if not soon after.
General manager Mathieu Darche made it clear that if it were the playoffs, Horvat would have played at some point on the seven-game road trip. Instead, the Islanders are being extremely cautious with their leading goal scorer — and rightfully so — especially with this being his second injury in short order.
When he does return, head coach Patrick Roy will have options. So let’s dive in on this Free Friday.
The Big Question: Barzal & Horvat — Together Again?
The biggest question facing Roy is whether or not he should reunite Mathew Barzal and Horvat.
The two clearly work well together, and after the loss of Brock Nelson, it’s understandable why No. 13 was shifted back to center.
However, with the emergence of Calum Ritchie — and while his defensive play on the road trip wasn’t perfect — he ended the trip with points in four straight games, proving he can continue to develop as a legitimate No. 2 center.
Lines That Should Stay Intact
While sorting out the top six, one thing feels clear:
The fourth line of Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb should be put back together.
They were arguably the Islanders’ best line on the road trip, even if Roy experimented late with Maxim Tsyplakov and Maxim Shabanov alongside Cizikas.
The “third line” of Jonathan Drouin – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Simon Holmstrom — and yes, third line is in quotes because they actually played more minutes than the Ritchie line — generated enough chances to justify staying together.
That’s true even with Drouin now sitting at 27 games without a goal.
The Biggest Puzzle: Anthony Duclair
At this point, the toughest decision might be where to put a red-hot Anthony Duclair.
He spent most of the road trip alongside Anders Lee and Barzal, but the chemistry between Duclair and Ritchie can’t be ignored — even if it showed up more at 5-on-4 than at 5-on-5.
Given his hot stick, could we see Duclair reunited with Horvat and Barzal?
That line opened the 2024–25 season before Duclair tore his groin in Game 5 of the regular season.
And we also can’t ignore how well Emil Heineman played with Horvat earlier this season, even if Heineman has cooled off a bit since his scorching start.
Lineup Option 1
Duclair — Horvat — Barzal
Lee — Ritchie — Heineman
Drouin — Pageau — Holmstrom
MacLean — Cizikas — Gatcomb
Lineup Option 2
Heineman — Horvat — Barzal
Lee — Ritchie — Duclair
Drouin — Pageau — Holmstrom
MacLean — Cizikas — Gatcomb
Lineup Option 3
Drouin — Horvat — Heineman
Lee — Ritchie — Barzal
Duclair — Pageau — Holmstrom
MacLean — Cizikas — Gatcomb
The Odd Men Out
As you can tell, all of these configurations leave out Shabanov and Tsyplakov.
While neither profiles as a true fourth-liner — and Shabanov, in particular, played extremely well against Seattle — we simply haven’t seen enough in their minutes.
Yes, Drouin has struggled, and sitting him for a game to reset could make sense, but it’s hard to see the organization going that route.
Power Play Change?
Horvat is one of the league’s best shooters in the bumper position — but right now, Duclair is on fire from that spot.
Given Duclair’s streaky nature — and the Islanders going 1-for-7 in their 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken to close out the road trip — would it make sense to slide Horvat to the right flank?
That would give the Islanders two one-time threats on the power play.
And with Horvat in the bumper, we still haven’t seen what he and Matthew Schaefer can do together on the man advantage.
That might be worth a look.
I’d like to see Tsyp in for Druin for 3 games at 12-15 mins. Bury him if he continues to underwhelm.