WASHINGTON — Bo Horvat didn’t mean to go viral.

But his comments to MSG following Saturday’s win over the Flyers comparing his Islanders experience to the Canucks — “It’s a lot better than Vancouver, I’ll tell you that for free,” he said — quickly caught fire on Twitter and in hockey media. So, following morning skate on Monday at Capital One Arena, Horvat offered a clarification, if not a complete apology.

“I wasn’t, obviously, expecting that,” Horvat said prior to the Islanders’ 5-2 loss to the Capitals. “I think it was kind of a heat of the moment thing, where I didn’t mean any disrespect to the fans in Vancouver or teammates or the city of Vancouver at all. It wasn’t directed at them at all. It was just the fans were all excited and I was excited to be in the playoff push.

“It was one of those things where my emotions got the best of me. I was just really happy to be there, to be honest with you. It might have come out the wrong way to a lot of people, so I apologize for that. I’m just excited to be in this position right now. To be in a playoff push, to be right there. I really enjoyed my time in Vancouver, I’m not trying to disrespect them at all. I’m sorry if I offended anybody.”

Upon joining the Islanders, Horvat said he thought he would be a “Canuck for life” until extension talks with Vancouver didn’t work out, leading to the trade.

He eventually inked an eight-year, $68 million deal with the Islanders — one he sounds quite happy to have signed.

“I’m really happy to be in this position right now. I’m really happy to be here and I just wanted to express that,” Horvat said. “Like I said, it came out the wrong way to a lot of people. We got another big game here tonight. Two big, important games and hopefully we can get in [to the playoffs].”

The Islanders’ chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association nominated Zach Parise for the Masterton Trophy, an award given for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Parise, whose career looked to be on its last legs when he was bought out by the Wild following the 2020-21 season, has found a pivotal role on the Islanders since then, scoring 21 goals so far this season and going his entire tenure on Long Island without missing a game.

“[The Islanders] gave me the opportunity,” Parise said. “Put me in a position to succeed. … You just really look forward to going to the rink and practicing, playing, being around this group of people. As much of a bummer as it was the way things ended there [in Minnesota], I’m happy to be able to experience this. It’s just been so great to be with this group of people.”