The New York Islanders split their two games during their weekend trip to Florida, shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Saturday, before falling 4-1 to the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
The Islanders scored three total goals through two games, one of which came as an empty-netter with just over one second left against the Lightning.
Ilya Sorokin certifiably stole the game at the Benchmark International Arena on Saturday, as he made 32 saves. The Islanders, meanwhile, only managed 19 shots on net throughout the contest.
Sunday against the Panthers, they posted just 21 shots on goal. In 120 minutes of hockey, the Islanders recorded fewer shots than they did in 60 minutes against the Colorado Avalanche, when they pumped 42 shots on net en route to a 6-3 statement victory.
Against Jonas Johansson and Daniil Tarasov, the Islanders simply needed to get more shots through on net. Yes, they beat the Lightning in an extremely impressive win, but it's not a sustainable way to win.
More often, a game like that results in what happened against the Panthers, where they kept it close, aided by more great goaltending, but ultimately fall short.
So what's causing the issues?
First, the injuries to Kyle Palmieri and Jonathan Drouin certainly impact th offense. That's a guy who funnels puck like nobody's business.
Maxim Shabanov and Maxim Tsyplakov have looked stronger in elevated roles, but the finishing hasn't been there. Couple that with Simon Holmstrom's ongoing scoring issues and inconsistent offense, and all of a sudden, New York's offense has stalled.
Emil Heineman's torrid start has slowed down. He's got just one point (a goal on 11/28 against Philadelphia) in his last nine games.
The Islanders dressed 12 forwards in both games in Florida. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, and Heineman have combined for 36 goals. The other nine forwards have scored a total of 25 goals this season.
It's a massive disparity, one that can easily illustrate just how top-heavy the Islanders have become with Palmieri, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Drouin out of the picture.
Those same nine forwards have a total of 59 points scored this season. Barzal, Horvat, and Heineman have 66 points between the trio.
Drouin, Palmieri, and Pageau combine for 15 goals and 45 points this season. That's a huge reason for the sudden crisis of goals missing.
Obviously, this team can score. They put six up on the Avalanche with this same group of forwards.
That level of explosiveness lives in the group, but they need to find a way to consistently find the back of the net and overcome injuries to stay afloat in such a tight playoff race.
The schedule doesn't lighten up this week. The Vegas Golden Knights will be in UBS Arena on Tuesday night. After that, the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, and then, somehow, a third game against the Lightning in the span of 12 days.
Pageau and Drouin are best described as day-to-day at current times. Pageau's extremely likely to return this week, perhaps as soon as Tuesday.
Palmieri, however, won't be back this season.
Palmieri posted 71 shots on goal in his 25 games. Outside Horvat, Barzal, Heineman, and Lee, you can combine any other two Islanders' forwards' shot totals for the season and have a shot total within seven of Palmieri.
The biggest and most controllable thing that can change in the immediate term?
Other wingers desperately need to shoot the puck more.