[ad_1]
Fifty-two games into the season, a low-event, grinding win wasn’t the only thing that looked like a return to better times for the Islanders. After 49 games apart, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock were back as the first defensive pairing for the Isles.
Early in the season, Islanders coach Barry Trotz had split them up as a way of helping paper over depth issues on the blue line. Then, in short order, Pulock suffered an injury that kept him out for 2 ½ months. Upon his return, Trotz said the pair would be reunited eventually, but he wanted to wait for Pulock to be back to 100 percent.
In a 2-1 win against the Blues on Saturday, Trotz evidently felt that the moment was right. Pulock and Pelech were on the ice together for 8:25, with the Islanders having the better of scoring chances 6-2 in those minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. Consider it a quick return to form.
“It’s good to be reconnected with him,” Pulock said. “I think we got a lot of confidence together and we know each other’s games well. It’s nice out there with him [Saturday].”
Part of the lack of urgency to reunite them came because Pelech and Scott Mayfield had developed good chemistry together — and, thanks to extended periods of four-on-four and on the penalty kill Saturday, played more than 10 minutes with each other Saturday — but it was ultimately a matter of time.
After all, Pelech and Pulock played 775 minutes together last season, more than all but five pairings across the league, per Natural Stat Trick, and had a 59.84 expected goals percentage on the ice together. That number led any pairing with more than 400 minutes.
With Zdeno Chara out due to injury, Trotz put Andy Greene with Noah Dobson and Mayfield with Sebastian Aho. That configuration ensured the Islanders would have one of their better puck-moving defensemen — Dobson, Pulock and Aho — on the ice at five-on-five no matter which pair was out there.
“It was just time,” Trotz said. “We just felt that Pully’s had some time. He missed a lot of time and his game was a little bit off. We wanted to give him an opportunity and I just felt, let’s put them together.”
Doing so paid dividends, as the Islanders came away with one of their better wins of the season.
“I thought we had no passengers today,” Trotz said. “Everybody played well. I can’t look down the lineup and go, ‘This guy can play better.’ ”
[ad_2]