Devils’ Paul Cotter to have Player Safety hearing Monday for hit on Islanders’ Adam Pelech
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Sunday evening that New Jersey Devils’ forward Paul Cotter will have a hearing on Monday for an illegal check to the head against New York Islanders’ defenseman Adam Pelech.
New Jersey’s Paul Cotter will have a hearing tomorrow for an illegal check to the head against NY Islanders’ Adam Pelech.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) April 13, 2025
The incident happened a few minutes into the second period between the two team’s Sunday afternoon matinee. As Pelech dumped the puck into the New Jersey zone, Cotter followed through with what appeared to be an elbow that made contact with Pelech’s head.
Paul Cotter was given a match penalty for this hit on Adam Pelech
Pelech got up and was FURIOUS at Cotter 😳 pic.twitter.com/OESobMUf28
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 13, 2025
Cotter received a match penalty and was ejected from the game. He finished with a total of 5:42 of ice time to go along with 15 penalty minutes.
The Islanders ended up winning the game 1-0, with Bo Horvat scoring his 28th of the season.
The Devils are now 41-31-7 with 89 points, third in the Metropolitan Division. They will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Forward Jesper Bratt leads the team in assists and points with 67 and 88, respectively. Nico Hischier leads the team in goals with 35. Before he suffered a season-ending injury, Jack Hughes had finished with 27 goals and 43 assists for 70 points.
Meanwhile, the Islanders are now 35-33-12 with 82 points, fifth in the Metropolitan Division. They are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Horvat leads the team in all offensive categories, with 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points. Right there with him is Anders Lee, who also has 29 goals to go along with 25 assists for 54 points.