Islanders' Defense Pairings Take Shape With Mayfield & Pulock Back In The Mix

When the New York Islanders returned to practice on Tuesday, defensemen Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock rejoined the group.

Mayfield was a full participant after missing four games before the break with a lower-body injury. Pulock, who had missed the final seven games with an upper-body injury, was wearing an orange non-contact jersey:

While it was a light practice, with head coach Patrick Roy wanting to ease his team back into things after a much-needed nine or so days off, we did get a sneak peak at what a semi-healthy blue line could look like. 

The expectation was that Alexander Romanov would remain with Tony DeAngelo, and that's exactly what happened. 

What changed is that Adam Pelech did not take shifts with Scott Perunovich, who had been stapled to his side. 

Instead, Pelech was with Mayfiel,d, and Perunovich was with Pulock:

The other day, we wrote a story about how Dennis Cholowski was likely the first man out of the mix, followed by Adam Boqvist if two defensemen were healthy enough to return, which seems to be the Islanders' mindset. 

Putting Pelech with Mayfield instead of Pelech back with Pulock, his usual partner, indeed allows for a deeper blue line.

There are a few more practice days before the Islanders host the Dallas Stars on Feb. 23, so we'll see if the defense remains the same. 

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