Hudson Fassing can only laugh about it.
After all, his lack of goalscoring this season isn't exactly because he has no chances.
Individually, Natural Stat Trick believes in him six Heidanger scoring opportunities in his last two games alone.
Since arriving alongside Casey Cizikas and Pierre Engvall, the trio has been one of the islanders' most productive.
Still, Fasching, who took part in his 32nd game of the season against the Canucks on Wednesday night, is one of only three forwards in the NHL, with over 30 games playing this season and zero goals.
“At one point, you have to let it go and laugh a bit. It's comical and I've had it many times and couldn't go with them,” said Fassing, who went back to Wednesday's 5-2 defeat to Vancouver, after a 5-2 loss to Vancouver, suffering from illness and losing to the blue jacket. “I have to try not to take it seriously, and I've definitely been clutching the stick too much for a while.
As a bottom six-man player who has come and goes in and out of the lineup all year round, I don't expect Fassing to score points.
The 19 he scored in 2022-23 was a high NHL career when he joined the Islanders as a call-up, and the only career he had scored over five goals.
Fassing, who played 18 shifts at 11:15 and did not score at the loss of the Islanders, knows it better than anyone himself. He also knows that zero is very different from three or four, from a mental standpoint.
“I mean, that's terrible. Let's call spades here,” Fassing said before playing 18 shifts without the Islander's loss points. “It's not fun. For me this year, it's definitely challenging to not have a goal.
“But at the end of the day it feels like you've played well throughout the rest of the game. You have to find a little comfort. You have to relax and be honest. You probably don't think about it. It's probably the best solution.
Jean Gabriel Pagot missed some of the third season after taking the puck to the face, but returned to finish the game.
Coach Patrick Roy said, to his knowledge, there was no communication between the NHL and the islanders regarding goalkeeper interference calls at the end of Monday night's restrictions.
Adam Boqvist has returned to healthy wounds after Fasching returned to the lineup after recovering from the illness that locked him out on Monday.
