Horvat among NHL stars coming up small early in playoffs

Leon Draisaitl has been lighting it up for Edmonton, Mitch Marner is scoring for Toronto and Roope Hintz is leading the way for Dallas.

They are among the top performers early in the NHL playoffs.

Then there are some big stars around the league who have not yet made a mark. A week into the first round, Bo Horvat and Aleksander Barkov have combined for a goal and two assists with the Islanders and Panthers, respectively, each trailing their series three games to one. Edmonton starting goaltender Stuart Skinner got the hook before the Oilers could fall into the same hole against Los Angeles.

Skinner may not get the chance to rebound right away if the Oilers' net now belongs to Jack Campbell, but time is running short for other standouts to contribute.

BO HORVAT, Islanders

After scoring a short-handed goal with 2:03 left in a loss to Carolina that put the Islanders on the brink of elimination, Horvat did not even celebrate. New York's big midseason trade acquisition had been held without a point until garbage time of Game 4.

Winning 55% of his faceoffs and doing a lot of little things right, Horvat acknowledged he needs to produce for the Islanders to avoid a first-round exit.

"I think I can be a lot better," Horvat said after the 5-2 loss in Game 4. “At the end of the day, I have to find a way to score big goals or get on the scoresheet not in a 5-1 game or a 5-2 game. I've got to find ways to make it meaningful, and I've got to be better.”

With teammate Mathew Barzal fresh off an extended injury absence and few other offensive stars around him, the Islanders are counting on that from Horvat, who scored 31 goals for Vancouver before the trade and has just eight since.

ALEKSANDER BARKOV, Panthers

Florida's captain has two assists in four games, with the Panthers falling behind 3-1 against top-seeded Boston. The Bruins haven't had captain Patrice Bergeron and also lost No. 2 center David Krejci to an injury, so Barkov has not had to play defense on them.

After scoring the sixth-most goals in the league during the regular season, the Panthers have averaged under three a game against the rugged Bruins; of the 11 goals, just two have come from Barkov’s top line.

“You don't want to say you're getting frustrated,” Barkov said. “The bounces are going to come if you keep working, keep putting pucks to the net, keep going, keep getting guys there. They're going to come, and we don't want to get away from that.”

If nothing changes on that front, Florida could get bounced as soon as Wednesday at Boston.

STUART SKINNER, Oilers

Replacing Campbell as the starter months ago, Skinner was a big reason Edmonton made the playoffs and finished second in the Pacific Division. The rookie goalie's struggles have since hurt the Oilers against the Kings.

Skinner allowed 12 goals on 101 shots, including three on 11 in the first period of Game 4 before getting pulled. Coach Jay Woodcroft said he didn't want to assign blame to Skinner — defenseman Vincent Desharnais was benched for the entire third period and overtime after being on the ice for three goals against — and just wanted to change the momentum.

Campbell stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced in the win that tied the series for the Oilers.

KAPRIZOV & BOLDY, Wild

Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have been buzzing around plenty against Dallas. But after combining for 71 goals in the regular season, Kaprizov has one and Boldy none through four games of a bruising series tied at 2.

Wild coach Dean Evason said he wasn't worried: “They've just got to continue to play the right way, the same way — they’ll get rewarded.”

VINCENT TROCHECK, Rangers

The Rangers gave Trocheck a seven-year contract worth $40 million to upgrade down the center in the offseason. He had zero points through the first three games against the New Jersey Devils before scoring New York's only goal in a 3-1 loss Monday night that evened the series 2-all.

He wasn't alone, though. Rangers teammate Alexis Lafrenière still hasn't made it on the scoresheet. On the Devils side, trade-deadline pickup Timo Meier has zeros across the board, too.

SCHEIFELE & HELLEBUYCK, Jets

For Winnipeg to challenge the West's best in Vegas, Scheifele and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had to be on top of their games. The Jets trail the Golden Knights 3-1 because they're not yet.

Hellebuyck has been better than his numbers indicated through three games, a 3.25 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. But he hasn't stolen the show like the Vezina Trophy-winning goalie he has been.

Scheifele had just one goal, on a power play, plus five giveaways and two penalties over 68 minutes of ice time in the first three games.

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