If the Islanders can't start their power play, they will watch the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs from home.
Let's not complicate anything.
The New York Islanders can play tremendously at 5-on-5 and get strong penalty-killing.
But if they can't find a remedy for their power-play plague, they will be watching the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs from their couch.
After going 0-for-1 on the power play against the Ottawa Senators at a time when they were down 1-0 in a 2-0 shutout loss, John MacLean's unit is now scoreless on 25 straight opportunities over their last 14 games.
"Tonight, our power play was not very good," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "If I'm telling you that our power play was good, I'd be lying to you. We don't have a lot of power plays. And I know it's been like, what, 14 games since we scored our last one?
While the Islanders' power play hadn't been getting results, they were looking more dangerous as of late. With Mathew Barzal back in the lineup and getting better with each passing game, the Islanders were breaking into the opponent's zone much cleaner and setting up their structure. They just weren't scoring.
"In the other games, I thought that we had pucks at the net," Roy said. "And their goalie made some saves today, but I don't think we had a shot on net [on the power play]. That's all we want. We want pucks at the net, and the guys know that."
The Islanders power play, which has been a league-worst pretty much the entire season, sits at 10.5 percent through 43 games.
If the season ended today, they would be tied for the fifth-worst power-play percentage in NHL history.
The problem is there's nothing really left for this group and this coaching staff to try.
"I think we need to trust what we're doing, and we got to trust the guys that are there," Roy said. "We got some talent, and I think, sometimes, we need to simplify things and throw pucks on the net. And that's what I've been saying, you know, throw pucks at the net, jam, and score on the rebound, score on a tip.
"Sometimes, that's all you need to get some confidence. And then, all of a sudden, these things start to open up for us."
There's one problem with Roy's plan.
It's mid-January, not October.
The Islanders don't have the luxury of continuing to hope things change; they desperately need results.
Sure, they found ways to win on the road without scoring a power-play goal, but in games where there's not much available at 5-on-5, like Tuesday, that's when teams need to use the man advantage to their advantage.
The Islanders' power play last season was middle of the pack, at 20.4 percent.
They're probably in a playoff spot, maybe third in the Metropolitan Division, with that kind of output this season.
Instead, they're almost a full 10 percent lower.
Struggling on the power play is one thing. But being this bad is a different ball game, one that's absolutely killing this team.