It's been a few years since the NHL considered Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech an elite pairing. They want that title back.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- If the New York Islanders want to find consistency during the regular season, the health of their backend is critical.
While the best ability is availability, getting the Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock pairing back on track is paramount.
It hasn't helped that Pelech has missed 45 games over the last two years, with Pulock missing 24 games last season. The two played only 44 games together last season, per Moneypuck.com.
But if the Islanders are going to rebound -- pun intended -- from their defensive woes over the last two years -- No. 3 and No. 6 will have to lead the way.
“The last few years, it's maybe been on and off, here and there [as a pairing]," Pulock said. "Things can always change, but I think right now we have briefly spoken just about getting our swagger back and being that pair that people don't talk about, per se, but know about in terms of shut down and just being hard to play against.
How does a veteran pair get that "swagger" back?
“Well, individually, we just need to be at our best, and if we do that together, we're going to be back to where we want to be," Pulock said. "It's nothing complicated. It's just simplifying, being hard, and it just comes down to winning battles, really. Winning battles in our D-zone, breaking the puck out, and not spending time in our zone. That's probably the biggest thing.”
Although, as Pulock mentioned, it comes down to both playing to the best of their abilities, Patrick Roy's system should help.
"I think we want to be more involved, not necessarily carrying the play, but being involved in the play up the ice," Pulock said. "And it starts with breaking the puck out, breaking the puck out clean. It allows at least one of us to get up there and be a part of that.”
Pelech isn't thinking about the last few years, only this upcoming season and starting off on the right foot... skate, rather.
"I think getting off to a big start will be important in building some confidence," Pelech said. "It's a new season, and we're getting a lot of reps in preseason, which is great.
"We're playing together, practicing together, and I feel good and confident. So, I just think continuing to get those reps in will be important."
Pelech agreed with Pulock that the aggressive system should pay dividends, describing exactly what they need to do to succeed.
"It's aggressive in a lot of different ways. So I think in the D-zone, like closing quick, really ending plays, getting on the transition, and getting on the offense quickly," Pelech noted. "I think that's something that we're both capable of, right? We're big guys who want to go in there and eliminate the play. So I like it from that aspect.
"And then, jumping up in the play, being that second wave of attack, and being maybe a little more active and aggressive in the ozone, I think, is something that both of us are, like, comfortable with and excited about."
Pelech also discussed gap control and needing to be more aggressive to cut down on opponents' time and space off the rush.
"Being aggressive is always something you always want to do, but it just depends on a lot of factors. The biggest thing is your gap," Pelech said. "So I think a lot of it is just working hard away from the puck, following up to play, working your gap, whether it's pucks being turned over, or whether they're just breaking the puck out.
"All five guys being in a good structure, allows everyone to be in the right positions and to have those good gaps and hard stance, so that's definitely something that we're working towards as a team here."
Hearing that the two want to get back to their elite level made Roy smile.
"That's music to my ears," Roy said. "As much as I want it doesn't matter. It's how much they want it. And that's exactly what I want to hear from them."