TAMPA, Fla. — The Chicago Blackhawks still have a scoring problem.

It didn’t feel as out of reach to start against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night as it did the Florida Panthers 24 hours earlier. They created chances at the end the first period and much of the second.

But for the Hawks, there seems to be puck repellent on their opponents’ nets. Their shots are just not getting past goaltenders.

It led to a 4-1 loss to the Lightning at Benchmark International Arena to cap a Florida back-to-back. It was the Hawks’ fifth straight defeat and eighth in nine games.

“If I had that answer (to why we can’t score), we would certainly do it,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We’ve definitely talked about being harder around the net … and we’ve definitely talked about shooting the puck more.”

Even when they did score — a Frank Nazar tip-in during the second period — they didn’t. What would’ve been his third goal in two games was wiped out due to his high-stick.

Are the Hawks cursed? Another loss has the team asking questions just to connect the dots.

“It’s frustrating,” right wing Cole Smith said. “I think we had some decent looks tonight. We’d like to generate some more offense, but it’s been tough coming for us on the goal side of things.”

The Hawks (4-12-1) wrap up their three-game trip against the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, entering as the lone team in the NHL without a road win (0-7-1). They lost 5-3 to the Panthers on Wednesday.

“It’s a good challenge,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said of the Hurricanes. |I think we’ve got to just come and compete. That’s all we can do: control our work ethic, control how we play, the details and the structure, and make sure that we’re staying dialed.”

The Lightning (10-3-2) improved to 8-0-0 at home, jumping on the Hawks early with defenseman Victor Hedman’s power-play goal at 4 minutes, 12 seconds of the first period against Arvid Söderblom (31 saves). In the first 15 minutes, Connor Bedard and Roman Kantserov had a combined three shot attempts, while the rest of the Hawks had only two. The Lightning had 12.

After that, the Hawks started to gain a rhythm that could’ve gone to the second period. That momentum was stunted by former Hawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev, who scored at 18:22 for a 2-0 first-period lead.

“I felt like we felt like we were starting to turn the tide,” Blashill said. “It’s another barrier as you try to win the hockey game. Definitely was unfortunate that that one went in, because I thought we were starting to push.”

The Hawks stayed within striking distance with a scoreless second period, but defenseman Ryan McDonagh and Mikheyev, who left the Hawks for the Lightning in free agency last summer, scored in the third to double the Lightning lead.

Only Kantserov’s rookie-leading eighth goal of the season with 50 seconds to play denied Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (25 saves) of his 43rd career shutout. Kantserov extended his points streak to seven games.

“He’s not going to score from far out, but he’s a smart player,” Blashill said of Kantserov. “He’s good around the net (and has) good eye-hand coordination, so he can tip pucks. He’s a good shooter.”

The Hawks have scored two goals or fewer in 11 of 17 games. Yes, they’re aware of their blatant goal-scoring issue.

“I don’t think guys are thinking in their heads, ‘Oh, here it comes’ or anything like that,” forward Ryan Donato said. “Guys mentally are prepared and want to do well. It’s just a matter of executing, and we go out there and that happens and we’ve got to be better and not let that happen. I don’t know if we have an explanation for why it keeps happening.”

Hawks forward Dillion Boucher got into a first-period fight with the Lightning’s Jeff Viel after Boucher delivered a big hit. It riled the crowd up, and Boucher left the fight bloodied.

The 29-year-old had a smirk on his face after returning to the bench following his first career fight. His teammates appreciated the effort.

“He’s brought a lot of energy for us,” Vlasic said. “He was definitely gushing a little bit, but good to get the boys fired up. He knows that that meant a lot for us out there. I was happy to see him get loose.”

In the absence of injured forward Patrick Kane — who’s unlikely to play Saturday — Boucher was called up as a replacement. After 151 games with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder and his first professional season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs, the left wing made his NHL debut versus the Panthers on Wednesday.

He’s not a scoring threat, but he brings a physical toughness to the Hawks, who Hawks outhit the Lightning 31-13. Boucher delivered seven.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” Blashill said. “I don’t know how many hits he had, but it felt like a number of real impactful hits. That’s a big thing. I think he’s done a good job defensively, and he goes out there and he’s physical. That’s what we wanted to bring to the table.”

Smith was on last season’s Vegas Golden Knights team that made the Stanley Cup Final. He knows what’s not happening on the Hawks side.

“We’re just finding ways to hurt ourselves,” Smith said. “Giving up late goals at crucial times of periods, those hurt. It sucks the momentum out of you after playing so well.”

How would he sum up the Hawks’ night in Tampa?

“Probably disappointed,” Smith said. “We all expect better from ourselves, and being in the position we’re in right now, disappointment is a big one. Losing games wears on you a bit, but it’s a long year and it’s early, (so) we’ve got to find it and start winning some games.”