Bo Horvat leads the Islanders past the Senators 4-2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Bo Horvat had a goal and two assists, and the New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Thursday night.

Anders Lee had a goal and an assist for New York, which won for the third time in four games. Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored, and Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves.

Nick Jensen and Drake Batherson scored for Ottawa in the third period. Tim Stutzle had two assists.

Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg made 21 stops.

Wahlstrom's first goal of the season lifted New York to a 3-0 lead 2:41 into the third. But Jensen scored his first of the year at 7:43 and Batherson made it 3-2 with his sixth with 5:33 remaining.

But Horvat put it away with an empty-netter with 10 seconds to go.

Ottawa had a scary moment on a power play midway through the first period when Josh Norris’ shot deflected off Ryan Pulock and caught Stutzle hard in the forehead.

Stutzle returned to start the second period and played the remainder of the game.

Islanders: The line of Lee, Horvat and Pageau was terrific.

Senators: Defenseman Artem Zub returned after missing nine games with a concussion. He was on the top pairing with Jake Sanderson.

With 1:38 remaining in the second period, Pageau beat Sanderson in a battle for the puck and broke in alone to beat Forsberg high on the stick side.

Brady Tkachuk leads the Senators with seven goals, but his five-game point streak came to an end.

The Islanders host New Jersey on Saturday, and the Senators visit Boston to open a two-game trip.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle (18) returns to the game with sutures above his right eye after being hit in the face with a puck, during second period NHL hockey action against the New York Islanders in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators defenceman Nick Jensen (3) celebrates his goal against the New York Islanders with right wing Claude Giroux (28) during third period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle (18) is helped off the ice by a trainer after taking a puck to the face during first period NHL hockey action against the New York Islanders in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) skates the puck past Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) during first period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

The glove of New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, centre hidden, reaches out to make the save as Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (left), right wing Claude Giroux (28), and Islanders defenceman Grant Hutton (34) look for the puck, during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators right wing Claude Giroux (28) tries to knock the puck away from New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Islanders centre Brock Nelson (29) keeps Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) from getting a shot on goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

New York Islanders centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) celebrates a goal as Ottawa Senators right wing Claude Giroux (28) skates away, during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has looked good in his first week back at practice after being sidelined by Achilles tendinitis and is on track to make his season debut Sunday against Tampa Bay.

McCaffrey returned to practice on Monday and has made it through three days of work on the field without any setbacks, leading coach Kyle Shanahan to say he expects his star back to play.

“He’s been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan told radio station KNBR on Thursday. “You never know (about) a setback or anything, but these two days have been great, and I expect to see him out there.”

McCaffrey has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis since early August. He missed almost all of training camp before returning to practice just before the season opener. He was scratched at the last minute before that game against the New York Jets on Sept. 9 and then had a setback at practice Sept. 12.

He was placed on injured reserve two days later and spent the past seven weeks resting and rehabilitating, including a trip to Germany for treatment.

The 49ers (4-4) are counting on McCaffrey’s return for a second-half boost. San Francisco has sputtered in the first half of the season with the offense scoring 3.9 fewer points per game than last season.

“It’s been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy said of getting McCaffrey back. “Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get (him) next to you in the backfield, it’s been awesome. Looks great moving around and he’s trending in the right direction. So, we’re excited to see what happens.”

Jordan Mason has done a good job filling in for McCaffrey with 685 yards rushing in eight games, but the Niners have sorely missed the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year in the red zone and in the passing game.

McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns as he helped lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl.

After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.

He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey speaks with the media after NFL football practice in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) scores a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)