NEW YORK, NY -- The New York Islanders had injuries this season that many teams would have struggled to overcome. But the real culprit as to why the Islanders are on the outside looking in with one game to go before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline is their power play.

It's been quite atrocious all season long, and it was no different in Monday night's must-win game against the New York Rangers.

They went 0-for-3 on the power play, with two total shots. They allowed one shorthanded shot, which was the goal that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the final minute of the first period in what became a 4-0 loss.

"Our power play has struggled, obviously all year. That's on us," Islanders forward Bo Horvat said. "At the end of the day, we have to figure out a way to get the job done. We had our opportunities and we just didn't take advantage of it."

With the goosegg, the Islanders power play now sits at 11.3 percent, the worst in the NHL. 

On home ice, they're at 13.5 percent and on the road they're at 8.8 percent. 

Since returning from the 4 Nations break, the Islanders' power play is 1-for-12 and they've gone 2-3-0. 

The numbers are one thing. The refusal to change their ways under John MacLean these last two seasons is another.

Yes, they've changed personnel, and the power play's puck movement has significantly improved since Tony DeAngelo joined the team.

But since he debuted in an Islanders' sweater on Jan. 24, the man advantage sits at a whopping 6.7 percent, just 2-for-30. 

Of those goals, Pageau's line came through with just a few seconds left in a 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. The other came on Saturday when Kyle Palmieri buried a rebound off an Adam Boqvist point shot. 

I talked to DeAngelo the other day about the power play because their movement has been so much better. He gave an honest response. 

"All these games turn into special teams games," DeAngelo said. "You let up one on the penalty kill and don't score on the power play, you usually lose by one. So that's the way it's going to go. We have to find a way to even that out." 

Spoiler alert: They haven't.

It's a problem that no coach has been able to fix with the personnel, even with the acquisition of Maxim Tsyplakov, who should be more of a factor as a net-front presence, even though he wasn't on either group on Monday. 

You could point at the penalty kill in the first half for playing a factor in poking the holes in the boat, but they've done more than their fair share to keep the boat afloat. 

But what's kept the boat from sailing the high seas has been the power play and, at this point,  it's the prime suspect in what has become a failed season. 

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