Ryan Pulock Autographed Card

Even though he is technically playing a minute less than he was in last year's playoffs - 22:17 versus 23:17 per game - Ryan Pulock is the New York Islanders' most-used skater, roughly 30 seconds more than defensive partner Adam Pelech. And while the Isles are generally seen as the lone remaining postseason team without a Norris-level defenseman - compared to the Vegas Golden Knights' Shea Theodore, the Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen and the Tampa Bay Lightning's Victor Hedman, not to mention Ryan McDonagh and Mikhail Sergachev - Pulock's goal and 8 assists for 9 points in 18 games is definitely elite-level, but the fact that the Islanders are 7-1 when he gets on the score sheet is even more impressive.

In Barry Trotz' system, apparently, the "little things" that quiet and subtle players achieve on the ice get rewarded often enough that they show up as "actual tangible things", and when they do, they tend to matter.

I'm really enjoying this series between a team basically using a modernized version of "The Trap" and the other perhaps the most skilled team of the salary cap era, and while I like a lot of players wearing the NY logo - Pulock, Semyon Varlamov, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal, Jordan Eberle, Derick Brassard, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk, Thomas Hickey and Andrew Ladd - I'm also kind of glad to see the Bolts find ways to create offense and ensure we don't fall into another Dead Puck Era.

Here's a look at Pulock wearing the Isles' current/retro blue (now-home) uniform on card #182 from the 2018-19 O-Pee-Chee set from Upper Deck:

He signed it in blue sharpie last December.