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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
When the Isles acquired Bo Horvat on Monday, you knew they were getting a goal scorer on a nearly 50-goal pace to help their dormant offense and struggling power play, but did you also know they were also bringing in a “bumper guy?”
Bo Horvat is a “bumper guy” and a really good one.
The “bumper guy” is the high forward in the offensive zone playing in between the “two checks” on a 1-3-1 power-play. As he occupies space between defenders, it’s unclear who is responsible for him, and the power-play can operate in a few different ways to set the player up in the middle.
TRIANGLE PASSING
One of the primary ways the bumper is set up is through triangle passing plays from the point and then to either the left or right side and back to the “bumper guy” in the middle for a quick one-timer. Horvat has one of those.
Look at how Vancouver executes this off the face-off to score just seven seconds into the power play. To the point, to the left (Horvat’s shooting side), and crisply to the newest Islander for a one-timer that gets off before defenders can converge.
THE GOAL LINE AND BACK
In this example, the puck goes from the top of the circle to the goal line and instantaneously back to Horvat in the middle. Watch him follow the progression of the puck and get himself into a shooting position for the one-timer.
NOW HERE’S A TIP
Horvat has a heavy, hard-to-move body and is adept at creating space.
That, combined with his elite hand-eye coordination, makes him one of the best in the NHL at deflecting shots on goal. Horvat is third in the NHL this season in tips that have been registered as a SOG with 30, behind only Chris Kreider (36) and Zach Hyman (34). Anders Lee is seventh (24).
When it comes to tip goals, Horvat is the best in the league. His 11 are tops, tied with now-former teammate Andrei Kuzmenko.
We’re all excited to see Horvat put on a line with Mathew Barzal and whether or not there is an instant type of chemistry that can make us dream of a top line for the next 7-8 years (if he signs!) But the more immediate impact may be felt in support of a power play that is 0-25 in the last ten games and 3-64 in the last 23 games. Time to bump those numbers up.
