Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders is defended by Austin Czarnik #21 of the Detroit Red Wings. Coach Lane Lambert officially deemed it a lower-body injury, calling Pelech day-to-day.

So too is Pelech, one of the rocks of that identity, struggling. Adam Pelech battles for the puck with Kirill Kaprizov (No. 97) and Joel Eriksson during the Islanders’ loss to the Wild.

With Nelson and Kyle Palmieri’s names already subject to trade rumors, the timer is running on the Islanders. They have hovered around NHL-.500 without some of their best players.

Pelech notched an assist, two hits and three blocked shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Sharks. Pelech ended a five-game slump with the helper on a Brock Nelson tally in the second period.

NEW YORK — Adam Pelech, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee scored third-period goals as the New York Islanders rallied for another comeback victory Tuesday night, 4-3 over the rival New York Rangers… ...