New York Islanders’ Adam Pelech out with lower-body injury

New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech will miss Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury.

Pelech, 29, suffered the injury midway through the first period of Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals when he stepped up to knock Aliaksei Protas off the puck and appeared to hurt his lower body in the collision. He finished the game with three hits and a penalty in 3:24 of ice time as the Islanders went on to beat the Capitals 3-0. He is currently classified as day-to-day in terms of his timeline for a recovery.

Pelech hasn’t generated much offense so far this season, with just one assist in nine games with the Islanders. He’s better known for his elite defensive play, as his 2.32 5v5 expected goals against per 60 since 2020-21 ranks 23rd among defenders with 3000 minutes played, and his 14.9 defensive goals above replacement in that span ranks 14th among defenders.

Pelech was a third-round pick of the Islanders in the 2012 NHL Draft, and has spent the entirety of his nine-season NHL career on Long Island. He’s currently in the third year of an eight-year contract with a $5.75 million cap hit, one he signed in the 2021 offseason as a restricted free agent after an arbitration filing.

Samuel Bolduc slots into the lineup for Pelech, with Bolduc currently having gone pointless in seven games so far this season. Sebastian Aho slots into Pelech’s second pair role alongside Noah Dobson going into Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, a duo that has a 44.58% 5v5 expected goal share in 17:52 of ice time so far this season. Aho currently has one assist in nine games this season.

The Islanders will look to add to their four-game point streak on Saturday against the Hurricanes, which starts at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Isles currently sit in third in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-2-2 record.