Isles Player to Watch vs. Oilers: Adam Pelech

The New York Islanders are coming off a strong showing in their victory over the Buffalo Sabes on Thursday night. Against the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, the Islanders will need to rely heavily on the play of their top defenseman Adam Pelech.

He is my player to watch during Saturday’s matinee at UBS Arena.

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With Ryan Pulock out (lower-body) Pelech has been without his defensive partner. But that has not stopped him from doing his job on a nightly basis. In the win over Buffalo, time and time again Pelech broke up rushes, whether it was with his stick or his body.

I broke down Pelech’s performance Thursday in the piece below.

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On Friday, McDavid and Draisaitl were slotted on different lines in their matchup against the New Jersey Devils, which is much more of a challenge when game planning to shut them down. And while both are dominant players, Pelech will likely be on the ice when McDavid hops off the Edmonton bench.

Due to McDavid’s abilities, being able to shut him down throughout a sixty-minute affair is highly unlikely. One could only hope to contain him and keep the high-danger chances to a minimum.

The Edmonton Oilers have the top-ranked power play in the NHL, at 31.2%. Pelech is on the Islanders’ top penalty kill unit, with the Islanders penalty kill ranked 12th in the NHL at 81.6%. The goal for the Islanders is to stay out of the box, but if they do end up taking penalties, Pelech will be relied upon heavily to help kill them off.

Pelech has four assists in 23 games and is a plus-five on the season. He has averaged 1.82 blocks per game, 1.87 hits per game, and 0.61 takeaways per game while playing 21.37 minutes per game.

Pelech leads all Islander defensemen at even strength with 10 takeaways and ranks second with 49 hits.