TORONTO — Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are back with the Islanders.
Adam Pelech and Ryan Purok pair up again.
And all was well in the islanders’ world.
Monday’s 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs marked the ninth time this season the Islanders started the night with a fully healthy defense and the first time since Nov. 24.
And it’s the first time Perek and Purok have skated together as a pair since Game 6 of the playoffs against the Hurricanes last year, with Perek returning from a presumed head injury and Purok coming back from a lower-body ailment.
If a team that has been severely lacking defensively all season needed something, it was just that.
“It was good,” Purok said. “I think it was tough in the beginning because I was out for so long. I just pick up the pace and get back to where I was. I tried to keep it simple. I tried to take short shifts. Of course, I think we played a pretty good match.”
Islanders coach Patrick Roy didn’t hold back much after both returnees got just over 20 minutes of ice time and didn’t look particularly rusty.
“Wow, what a great performance by those two,” Roy said. “They were rock solid and controlled the game. Obviously I didn’t know much about Purok, but I was pretty impressed with his performance tonight. He’s a really good defenseman. . Obviously he’s going to help us a lot.”
It’s been a long time since Perek and Purok played together regularly as a pair, partly because they’ve both been plagued by injuries over the past few seasons, and because Alexander Romanov This is thanks to the fact that Noah Dobson and Noah Dobson didn’t get the hang of it right away at the start of the 2022-23 season. .
These factors combined to necessitate the disbanding of what was once one of the NHL’s best pairings.
But Romanoff and Dobson have found enough chemistry to be the Islanders’ top pairing since their formation this season.
And Perek and Purok are both healthy now.
If that’s the case, the path for them to be and stay together seems obvious.
After scoring his first NHL goal in the second period, Kyle McClain was able to share the moment with his father, John, on the bench.
“It happened pretty quickly. I almost lost consciousness,” MacLean said. “It’s definitely cool to see it cross the line and realize you scored a goal. So it was special.”
Casey Cizikas (lower body) traveled to Toronto and skated with the group Monday morning wearing a non-contact jersey.
Monday was Bo Horvat’s 700th NHL game.
