Jonathan Drouin quickly growing comfortable on NY Islanders top line with Bo Horvat

Two straight New York Islanders regulation wins have done more than steady the Islanders’ start, and few players embody that more clearly than Jonathan Drouin, the free-agent signing that is already producing like a stabilizing veteran with four points in his first four games on Long Island.

“Yeah, it does,” Drouin said when asked whether the consecutive wins matter for confidence. “We shouldn’t have been 0–3, but that’s how the league is. It’s nice to get two in a row and get that mojo going a little bit.”

Drouin has been dropped onto a first line with Bo Horvat — a familiar face — and Emil Heineman, and it is working. The line has been central to the team's recent two-game uptick. “We’re all different,” he said. “Bo’s a two-way centerman who scores when you get him looks. Heine’s physical, skates well, underrated shot, great on the forecheck. It’s been pretty good so far — we’re clicking a little bit.”

Drouin and Horvat are far from strangers. Their relationship traces back to the Memorial Cup, Hockey Canada events and even summer hockey when they were eight years old. “I never liked playing against him,” Drouin said. “He was mature even at 10. It’s nice to finally play with him.”

That comfort has carried off the ice, too, where the Horvat family has helped ease Drouin’s transition to Long Island. “It’s been easy. The guys have been awesome.” Individually, Drouin credits comfort over scheme. “In preseason, you’re thinking — new system, new team,” he said. “Now I’m not thinking anymore. Just playing.”

For an Islanders team that needed both stabilization and spark, Drouin has provided an early measure of both — and the results are beginning to follow.