Bo Horvat’s lack of scoring towards the end of the regular season was fairly easy to overlook.

The Islanders’ star acquisition was carrying a large two-way load with Mathew Barzal out and, bottom line, it’s easy to turn something like that into a footnote when the team is winning.

But now in the playoffs, Barzal is back and it has done nothing to help Horvat break out of an extended scoring slump as the Islanders’ first line has struggled to make an imprint on their series against the Hurricanes.

Horvat finally got on the board late in Sunday’s 5-2 loss with a shorthanded goal.

But one goal with just over two minutes to go in a blowout loss isn’t enough, and Horvat knows it.

“I think I can be better, to be honest with you,” he said following the loss, which put the Islanders down 3-1 in the series. “I think I’m doing a lot of good things away from the puck and winning my faceoffs, doing that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day, I gotta find ways to score big goals and get on the scoresheet.

“Not in a 5-1 game or 5-2 game. I gotta find ways to make it meaningful. I gotta be better.”

Without the built-in advantage of last change — aka the ability to match up Jordan Staal’s checking line against Horvat, Barzal and Anders Lee — the Hurricanes did not have all that much trouble stopping the Isles’ first line from getting to their game over two matches in Elmont.

At five-on-five, Barzal’s Game 2 laser is the only goal the first line has scored all playoffs and, Horvat’s late tally aside, the trio was a no-show on Sunday, leading to coach Lane Lambert switching Barzal to Zach Parise’s spot on the third line late in the game.

“We’ve been doing a lot of good things, but I think it’s been a lot of perimeter stuff,” Horvat said. “I think we can get to the blue paint a little bit more. Maybe not be as fancy and try to get some pucks and bodies to the net.

“I just don’t think we’re creating enough havoc out there sometimes. We gotta find ways to stay out of the [penalty] box, too, to gain that momentum and get our line out there more consistently at five-on-five. When we do, we’re getting our chances. It’s just a matter of staying more consistent.”

Now they will need to do it with Carolina dictating the matchups and with their backs against the wall.

No one doubts the talent atop the Islanders’ lineup, but just as equally, no one could credibly argue that they have gotten enough from their horses.

“Put it this way, it’s not just [Horvat],” coach Lane Lambert said. “It’s the unit. It’s like any other line. Lines have to work together, they have to be tight and have tight support.”