For teams outside of the NHL playoff picture, American Thanksgiving is about the time to begin worrying about the standings.

That's just one more thing potentially to fret for the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. Both teams have been worrying about the state of their offenses long before anyone started thinking about carving a turkey.

The Islanders and Bruins both will look to earn a key victory on Wednesday night when they meet in Elmont, N.Y.

The Islanders were idle on Tuesday, one day after continuing a three-game homestand with another third-period collapse in a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Bruins will complete a back-to-back, home-and-away set after dropping a 2-0 decision to the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

The Bruins' loss kept the Islanders within two points of Boston and the Buffalo Sabres, both of whom have 23 points and are tied for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

But the Islanders and Bruins are struggling to figure out their goal-scoring woes.

The loss Monday was the fourth in five games (1-3-1) for the Islanders, who held a third-period lead in all four defeats. New York has allowed one goal or less through two periods in 14 of its first 22 games but is just 5-5-4 in those contests.

The Islanders, who rank 27th in the NHL with 54 goals but are eighth in shots at 659, know many of their issues over the final 20 minutes stem from failing to pad their leads.

"They're not going in for us right now at times, and we've just got to push through it," captain Anders Lee said after the Islanders were limited to three goals or less for the fifth straight game and the 14th time this season. "And obviously, we've got to find a way to keep the puck out of the net in the third period."

The frustration continued building Tuesday night for the Bruins, who fell for the first time in three games under interim head coach Joe Sacco despite outshooting the Canucks 32-15.

Boston, which ranks 30th in the NHL with 50 goals and 16th with 633 shots, has three goals or less in each of its last eight games and 18 times overall in just 23 games.

The Bruins had three power-play chances after former Boston forward Jake DeBrusk scored 5:53 into the second period Tuesday night. Canucks right winger Conor Garland iced the victory by scoring into an empty net with 13 seconds left.

"We just have to start burying our chances," said Sacco, who took over for the fired Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19.

"I think that we're giving ourselves a chance to compete in games now. The guys are defending hard, like I mentioned before, but offensively, we have to get some guys going and find their scoring touch."

--Field Level Media

Quickchart Matchup

Boston Off vs  NY Islanders Def

2.22 GF 2.86 GA 27.5 Shots 29.1 Shots 11 PP 14 PK

NY Islanders Off vs  Boston Def

2.45 GF 3.13 GA 30 Shots 28.1 Shots 8 PP 20 PK