The New York Islanders got bad news on the injury front on Saturday, as defenseman Adam Pelech was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) with an upper-body injury.
Pelech suffered the injury in the first period of Friday's 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators and did not return.
Pelech's LTIR designation means the blueliner will miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days, meaning the earliest Pelech could return would be Dec. 19 against Edmonton.
"There's no question the type of player he is and you know how important he is to the lineup, but injuries are part of the game," Islanders President of Hockey Ops and General Manager Lou Lamoriello said. "You have to rise to the occasion and that's exactly what transpired in the game last night is what we expect from our players who are healthy."
The defenseman logged 28 blocked shots, 15 hits, three assists and a team-high plus-six rating in 16 games this season, while averaging 19:38 TOI/GP.
REILLY CLAIMED OFF WAIVERS
The Islanders claimed defenseman Mike Reilly off waivers from Florida in a corresponding move on Saturday afternoon. Lamoriello said Reilly is expected to join the team on Sunday.
The 6-foot-1, 196-pound native of Chicago, IL has played in 341 career NHL games with the Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, scoring 98 points (12 goals and 86 assists). In 139 American Hockey League games, Reilly has 80 points (18 goals and 62 assists) with the Iowa Wild and Providence Bruins.
Lamoriello cited Reilly's experience as a factor for scooping the defenseman off waivers, as opposed to making a long-term recall from Bridgeport, though the team did recall Grant Hutton as a reinforcement for Saturday's game against Philadelphia.
"We can bring in a more experienced person," Lamoriello said. "We're going to have a couple of young players in the lineup with our defense tonight. And it is a relatively young defense right now, which we're proud of as far as today and tomorrow. The major reason was the experience, 350 games compared to 10, 15 and 20 is quite a difference."
