Barry Trotz sees it as a matter of confidence. You start missing shots and then hesitation creeps in. 

“Instead of launching that puck off your stick when you receive it, you look for a pass and then you decide to shoot it,” Trotz said. “Well, by that time, a lot of times the goalie has reset and then that makes it even harder to score.” 

For Kyle Palmieri, that’s been felt in a big way this season. After nearly six weeks out dealing with an injury, Palmieri returned to the Islanders lineup on Thursday against the Kings, playing 13:12 and recording two shots on goal. 

“Obviously it felt great to get back in the lineup and play a game,” Palmieri said. “It took a little longer [to get back], obviously that gets a little frustrating.” 

Now that he’s healthy, the focus is on turning around a nightmare start to the season in which Palmieri scored just once and had only seven points before suffering the injury. 

“Some of the stuff, you can make better shots, but things happen fast,” Palmieri said. “I know I have the capabilities to finish better than in the past. Hopefully it takes one or two to get it going and get the ball rolling in the right direction.” 

During Palmieri’s absence, the Islanders managed to play some of their better hockey this season, going 7-2-1 with Kieffer Bellows usually filling Palmieri’s role in the top six. 

Still, though, they’ve struggled to find offensive answers, particularly against top-level teams. 

Palmieri, who has been a productive goal scorer in the past, should be an answer to some of those issues. If, that is, he can break out of his slump. 

“You take it day by day and you come in, you want to get the result of that day,” Palmieri said. “So whether that’s practice or rehabbing an injury, you want to come in and get better and try to help your team win. So that’s the focus. It’s not too much fun looking at the stat lines, things like that.” 

The fact is, though, the Islanders gave Palmieri decent money this offseason on the belief he’d fill the stat sheet much more than he has. And they are a team that very much needs to find a way to score more goals. 

“That’s really his position, to be in the top six for us,” Trotz said. “Usually in the top six, we need some production from a very good player. A player that has experience, has an edge and all that. I know he’ll respond, he’s got good character and it’d be a real bump for us.” 

Getting the mental side of things right, though, isn’t something Trotz feels he can do much to help. That’s Palmieri’s to deal with, and he trusts the 30-year-old knows how. 

“That’s the mental part of the game that I, myself, and you and even the fans maybe don’t even understand,” Trotz said. “These athletes go through this, they learn through success, they learn through failure and sometimes they have to work it out by themselves. As much as we want to help to get them to that level, sometimes they have to trust their own game and believe in their own game. 

“And I think he does and that’s why I think he’ll be productive for us in the second half here.”