Community writer Nabo is back with his 4th lesson of his hockey school. This time he's focusing on making you a better defensive player. If you've missed any of his other articles you can find them in our NHL section. And as always be sure to stop by our forums to discuss the article.
So it has been a few weeks since our last class, but welcome to the most important class. Defense is that thing you wish you were good at, and the thing you wish your opponent wasn’t good at.
There are several ways to play “defense” and there is also a specific way that you should be using your defenders when playing offense. As I have mentioned before, when you are in the offensive zone, either on a power play or just in the zone there are a few things you need to keep in mind. The defenders aren’t there just to watch you score, most goals come from the defender shooting the puck on net, or the defender actually scoring the goal. Traditionally defenders are larger than the wings and the extra mass will help to speed up the slapshot and wristshot. Knowing this, let’s consider a situation where you are in the offensive zone playing as one of the wingers with the puck behind the net. Normally your opponent will rush you and try to take the puck. Pass it up the boards to your defender, have him get in position and take the shot, shoot a one timer, or just pass it a second time into the front of the net. What this means is that if you are playing as the defender, and that situation is presented, expect a pass. The last job of the defender in the offensive zone is to keep the puck in. If the opponent attempts to clear the puck then you need to do your best to keep the pressure going. Let me just put it this way, the longer you keep the puck in, the better your chance of getting set up and scoring a goal.
Now let’s get into actually playing defense in the defensive zone. There are a few ways to play defense, but what you want to ask yourself is how much pressure do you need to put on and where should the pressure be put.
Let’s get into the first part of that question. How much pressure do you need to bring on your opponent? This is basically the question of aggressive or passive play. If you have a very aggressive opponent that tends to shoot a lot of one-timers or will just skate in and shoot the puck immediately, you will want to play aggressively or passively depending on where you put that pressure. Let’s say you have a 1-on-1 situation and you have two options. Either, rush up and check your opponent and try to steal the puck, or you can play cautiously and wait for your opponent to make the first move (giving you a better chance to take the puck or block the pass).
As you can see from that situation, the type of defense you play really depends on what is going on and how players are situated. What I tend to do is keep a more aggressive play style and if I am in a 1-on-1 scenario or a scenario I will do anything possible to stop my opponent, even if it means giving them a penalty shot or taking a penalty. Another key situation is when I am playing against an opponent who will sit back and pass the puck in the zone and wait to shoot. I will tend to set up in front of the net with my 2 defenders and center keeping the front of the net clear and then use the wings to put pressure on the blue line opponents or chase pucks into the corner. Also, if my wings take the puck away I will pass it to the most open player and clear the puck (and change my line), or go behind the net and try to ease the chaos a little bit.
I will try and break down what you should do, let’s see how it goes:
1. If you opponent is aggressive, rush him and take the puck, or play it safe and try to keep the net clear
2. If you opponent is passive, keep the net clear and pressure him to keep the puck moving (usually this results in your opponent freaking out and accidentally losing the puck).
3. If you opponent plays depending on what the situation is (meaning they will shoot right away when the opportunity presents itself, but usually try to set up and take smart shots) then you will want to do the same. Use number 1 in the aggressive and powerplay scenarios, and use number 2 when he is trying to set up.
[Note: when you play defense, make sure your goalie can see the puck! If he can’t then he doesn’t know where to face and where to make the save.]
As you can see this lesson can go on and on, but you should now have a general idea of what you want to do. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
