Adam Pelech returning off long-term injured reserve to play his first game since suffering a presumed wrist injury represented some good news for the Islanders on Tuesday. 

But it also ended up being the best news of the day as Pelech didn’t look quite himself over 17:33 in a 5-2 loss to Vancouver in which the Isles were completely outplayed on home ice. 

Pelech finished without a shot on goal and with two blocks, but was also credited with three giveaways, one of which led directly to a Canucks goal. 

“Definitely not thrilled with my game,” Pelech told reporters. “It’s been a while off. No excuses, but I gotta be better. We’ll get there, but it was great to be back in the lineup with the guys.” 

Elias Pettersson stripped the puck from Pelech as he skated through his own slot area to set up Vancouver’s third goal of the night at the 10:20 mark of the second period.

That was the lowlight of a return in which Pelech seemed to still be getting up to pace. 

“Just trying to take a couple hard strides to get it out of trouble before moving it and I got my pocket picked,” he said. “That’s one I want back for sure.” 

His return should eventually be a major boost for a team that has played down multiple defensemen and bled high-danger chances for most of the season. 

But that did not come to fruition on Tuesday. 

“I thought he showed signs of rust,” coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s been out for a while. It’s good for him to get back into game action. You can skate all you want, once you get into the game against opposition you see a difference there. It’s a good step for him to get back.” 

Casey Cizikas appeared to suffer a left leg injury after blocking Nikita Zadorov’s shot in the first period.

He returned at the end of the period and for two shifts early in the second, but did not finish the game. 

Lambert did not have an update on his status following the loss. 

Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov, both of whom have seen their minutes balloon as a result of the injury glut, are poised to benefit in terms of a lighter workload with Pelech back.

That did happen Tuesday, with Dobson playing 24:39 — breaking a club-record 21-game streak with 25 minutes or more. 

“That’s the thing right from the start. When those guys got injured, it left other guys with heavier minutes and taxing,” Lambert said pregame. “So that should take a little bit of a load off those guys eventually.”