Islanders' Adam Pelech activated off injured reserve for matchup with Canucks
Adam Pelech of the Islanders skates against the Colorado Avalanche at UBS Arena on Oct. 24. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Adam Pelech watch is over. The stalwart defenseman returned to the Islanders’ lineup for Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Canucks at UBS Arena after practicing with the team for more than a week.
“It was great to be back, it’s been a long time,” Pelech said after logging a managed 17:33 with a hit on his first shift, three giveaways, two blocked shots and was on the ice for two of the Canucks’ goals. “Definitely I’m not thrilled with my game. It’s been a while off. No excuses but I’ve got to do better.”
Pelech suffered what the Islanders classified as an upper-body injury on Nov. 24 — believed to be his left wrist or lower arm — and missed 20 games. He was activated off long-term injured reserve after Tuesday’s morning skate.
The left-shooting Pelech was paired with the righthanded Scott Mayfield as coach Lane Lambert kept Pelech’s early-season partner, Noah Dobson, together with Alexander Romanov.
“I thought he showed signs of rust,” Lambert said. “It was good for him to get back into game action. You can skate all you want but once you get against an opposition, you see a difference there.”
Rookie Samuel Bolduc came out of the lineup as a healthy scratch to accommodate Pelech’s return after playing the previous 18 games.
Isles files
Goalie Semyon Varlamov (lower body) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 2 to open a roster spot for Pelech. He has yet to resume skating and Ken Appleby backed up Ilya Sorokin for the third straight game … Mathew Barzal, from Coquitlam, British Columbia, had a second-period, power-play assist and has at least one point in all 11 career games against the Canucks … Kyle Palmieri’s assist on that power-play goal snapped a six-game point drought … Forwards Oliver Wahlstrom and Hudson Fasching remained healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
More Islanders
