Bo Horvat was talking about teammate Brock Nelson, but he could have just as easily been referring to himself.

“You need your best players to be your best players at the end of the day,” Horvat said after the Islanders’ 6-1 victory Thursday over the Lightning, in which Nelson scored a goal and assisted on another.

Of late, Horvat hasn’t quite been among the Islanders’ best, with a five-on-five scoring drought dating back to Feb. 22 against the Jets.

Thursday, though, could have marked a start.

Late in what was already a blowout, Horvat found Simon Holmstrom with a nifty backhand feed that ended in a goal.

Then, in the final minute of play, Horvat scored at even strength for the first time since that late-February game against Winnipeg, snapping in a cross-ice feed from Noah Dobson at four-on-four.

“It definitely feels good to put the puck in the back of the net and see it go in against the goalie,” said Horvat, whose last goal had been an empty netter against the Devils on March 27. “It’s been a while. I think it’s good for the confidence and stuff like that.”

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The Islanders are embroiled in a wild-card race and have zero margin for error with three regular-season games left, so it would bring some needed offensive punch if Horvat were to rediscover his scoring touch.

The chances have, at least at times, been there.

Early in the game Thursday, Horvat hit the crossbar on a power-play chance.

Late in the loss Sunday at Carolina, Frederik Andersen stoned his game-tying attempt from the slot.

But that means little if the goals don’t come as well.

“Obviously, it’s just a little weight off your shoulders,” Horvat said. “Obviously, you’re always thinking about it. You want to contribute offensively to the team and get on the score sheet.”

Horvat’s goal on Thursday was his 38th of the season, easily a career-high. Forty goals are still well in sight.

“It’s always nice for his mindset to see pucks go in the net,” coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s good for him and we’re happy about it.”

After Josh Bailey was a healthy scratch on Thursday, it is now impossible for him to catch Denis Potvin for second on the Islanders’ all-time games played list.

Bailey currently has 1,056 games, four behind Potvin, but has played just twice since March 14.

Bryan Trottier holds the franchise record with 1,123 games.