Islanders hope Adam Pelech's injury absence won't be long

The Islanders have dealt with Adam Pelech being out of the lineup for long stretches in the past, often not with great results. They’re hoping the top-pair defenseman’s current absence is a shorter one.

“He’s a great player,” defenseman Sebastian Aho said. “We don’t want to miss him. But we’ve got others ready to step up and take responsibility for the parts that need to be taken care of.”

Pelech missed Saturday’s overtime loss to the Hurricanes after exiting Thursday’s win in Washington in the first period following a hip-to-hip collision with the Capitals’ Aliaksei Protas.

Coach Lane Lambert said Pelech, who was on the ice before the Islanders’ morning skate, suffered a lower-body injury.

Pelech missed 21 games last season after suffering a head injury on Dec. 6 and the Islanders went 7-9-5. The Islanders finished the regular season on a 10-13-7 skid in 2019-20 after Pelech injured his Achilles tendon.

Scary moment

The Islanders had another injury scare when top-line center Bo Horvat, who had two assists, limped from the ice after blocking Brady Skjei’s blast at 10:27 of the third period.

The puck knocked Horvat’s ankle protector off his left skate. He returned to the ice five minutes later.

“I didn’t really know what happened,” Mathew Barzal said.  “You never want to see a guy go down.”

Isles files

The Islanders have not beaten the Hurricanes on home ice during the regular season since a 4-1 win at Barclays Center on Nov. 24, 2018 . . . The Islanders have outscored opponents 6-0 in the first period in their last five games. They’ve been outscored 5-2 in the third period in their last three games . . . The Islanders are 0-3 in overtime.

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By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.