The Islanders reinstated defenseman Adam Pelech from long-term injured reserve ahead of Tuesday's game against the Canucks, returning No. 3 to the action after missing 20 games with an upper-body injury.
Peleku is believed to have injured his wrist in Ottawa on Nov. 24 against the Senators, where Sebastian Aho was also injured.
Since then, the Islanders have consistently played with multiple defensemen out of the lineup, as Ryan Pulock joined Pelech on LTIR before Aho returned.
Robert Bortuzzo, one of two defensemen brought in to fill the void along with Mike Riley, is also on IR after sustaining a lower-body injury last week.
Pelech, 29, has long been the Islanders' best defenseman, and his return paired with Scott Mayfield should help strengthen a defense that has struggled all season.
Now would be an especially good time for the Isles to start making life easier for Ilya Sorokin, as the netminder's workload has increased due to the lower-body injury suffered by Semyon Varlamov a week ago in Colorado.
Varlamov was placed on IR on Tuesday to make room for Pelech on the roster.
This move was retroactive to January 2nd, so it can be triggered at any time.
