Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher suspended five games for hit on Islanders' Adam Pelech
Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech shoots against the Maple Leafs in the first period of an NHL game at UBS Arena on Jan. 11. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher was suspended for five games on Friday for his predatory play on the Islanders’ Adam Pelech that resulted in a match penalty for an illegal hit to the head on Thursday night.
Whether the Islanders again will be without their stalwart defenseman will remain in question until they face the Panthers on Saturday night at UBS Arena in their final game before their eight-day All-Star break/bye week.
The Islanders did not practice on Friday and issued no update on Pelech’s status, but the NHL, in its video explanation of Gallagher’s suspension, noted twice that Pelech had suffered an injury.
Gallagher drove his elbow up to the unsuspecting Pelech’s head in the neutral zone in a fly-by hit at 11:50 of the third period of the Islanders’ 4-3 loss in Montreal. Pelech, who remained on the ice for a couple of minutes, grabbed his helmet and appeared woozy as he was led off the ice and directly to the Islanders’ room.
“It didn’t look good with Adam down and leaving the game,” defenseman Noah Dobson said.
Gallagher will forfeit $169,270.85 in salary.
Last season, Pelech missed 21 games with a head injury in December and January after a hard hit from current teammate Robert Bortuzzo, then with the Blues.
He’s already missed 20 games this season after injuring his left wrist or arm in Ottawa on Nov. 24. Thursday was his ninth game back in the lineup.
“I’ve had a few long absences,” Pelech told Newsday earlier this month. “I think you learn how to deal with it mentally.”
A ruptured Achilles tendon in January cost Pelech the rest of the regular season in 2019-20.
The Islanders will have six healthy defensemen if Pelech is unavailable against the Panthers. Mike Reilly, a healthy scratch in three of the last four games, would draw back in.
Regardless of Pelech’s status, Saturday’s game has a must-win feel to it leading into the lengthy hiatus. The Islanders (20-17-11) have lost two straight after coach Patrick Roy won his debut on Sunday. They have fallen four points off the pace for a wild-card spot and are 3-7-2 this month.
“We need to work on some of our mistakes,” Roy said. “I thought we had a good start at the beginning of the game. Then, all of a sudden, we put a puck in the stands [Hudson Fasching] or we make a turnover [Pierre Engvall]. What that does is just kill our momentum.”
Jerseys revealed. The NHL finally revealed the Islanders and Rangers jerseys for their outdoor Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 18. The Islanders, the home team, will wear a sweater with a deeper blue base than their usual home jerseys. A broad orange band across the middle will have “Isles” written in the darker blue and broad orange bands across the sleeves will have numbers in blue. The jersey also includes a thin orange piping at the bottom and for the neck. The white-based Rangers jersey has “NYR” in the familiar slant pattern across the front.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
More Islanders
