What will the NY Islanders blue line look like when Adam Pelech returns?

The NY Islanders have fared much better than expected after losing all three of their left-handed defensemen in the same game, with all missing an extended period.

Alexander Romanov returned to the lineup last night against the Calgary Flames with Grant Hutton’s role being reduced to the press box. Romanov played 21:04 in his return to the ice, but the team remains down two defensemen.

Mike Reilly underwent heart surgery this week, so his return this season is unknown and is at the bottom of the list of concerns as his health is the top priority.

Who will be part of the Islanders blue line?

Adam Pelech was slapped with a 4-6 timetable after sustaining an upper-body injury, with Friday being the three-week mark.

Steering on the side of optimism, let’s assume Pelech returns at the four-week mark. That means he’ll miss three more games and return on Black Friday for a matinee game against the Washington Capitals. So who would be the Islanders' six defensemen on that day?

Romanov, Mayfield, Pulock, Pelech, and Dobson would of course be in, leaving that last spot to either Isaiah George or Dennis Cholowski. George has been phenomenal since making his NHL debut, but Cholowski has been improving with each game. 

At first thought, George seems like the no-brainer. Roy has relied on him more often than Cholowski, averaging 19:45 his season to Cholowski’s 11:05. But all of George’s ice time has come at even strength, playing 13 seconds on the power play and one second on the PK. Cholowski, on the other hand, has been quarterbacking the Islanders' second power play unit, albeit, a not very successful unit.

So by going with George, Roy would need a new point man on one of his power play units, and by going with Cholowski, he’d need more minutes eaten up by the other five defensemen if he’s not willing to put Cholowski out there. 

Both defensemen bring a different dynamic to the team and both will likely remain in the roster. 

While Cholowski’s value is on the man advantage, it’s going to be extremely difficult to pull George out of the lineup the way he’s playing.