New York Islanders’ Adam Pelech Quietly Working Wonders

New York Islanders fans might not realize this, but Adam Pelech has been a major contributor to the recent success of the team in the month of January.

With the absence of Travis Hamonic, New York Islanders head coach Doug Weight made the bold move of placing 22 year old Adam Pelech on the top pairing with Nick Leddy, and it’s been working very well.

The New York Islanders are 7-2-1 in Travis Hamonic’s absence, and much of the credit goes to Adam Pelech. Pelech, who was drafted 65th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, has filled Hamonic’s role quite well, playing a solid defensive style of hockey.

Although Pelech’s individual stats don’t reflect the impact he has made, tallying 1 G, 4 A, and a +/- of -2, the change in his partner’s numbers, Nick Leddy, is where you can really see the impact Adam Pelech has made to this New York Islanders defense.

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At one point of the season, Nick Leddy’s +/- was a staggering -13, partially due to Travis Hamonic’s lack of success, but ever since Pelech was there, Leddy now stands at a -5, which means Leddy has had a plus/minus of eight ever since he was paired up with Adam Pelech.

By placing Adam Pelech on the top pairing, less goals have been conceded, which also means the team has had better opportunities to both score goals and win games. The Islanders have also been able to be in control of the puck and put up shots on goal, the 43 shot game against the Montreal Canadiens was a great example of that.

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Even when Carey Price played the game of his life, stopping 41 New York Islanders shots, the Isles were still able to pull away with the 3-2 win because they were able to limit the amount of scoring chances the Canadiens had, which is an area Adam Pelech has been excelling at.

The stronger defense has also played a huge role in Thomas Greiss’ success, which also earned him his three year contract extension as well as a shutout streak that almost stretched three games in the beginning of Doug Weight’s tenure.

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Although many New York Islanders fans think all of the credit for the recent stretch of winning should go to Interim Head Coach Doug Weigh, Adam Pelech’s play is also a very huge part of this, and he deserves more credit than he is usually given.