NHL faceoff crackdown forcing more blue-liners into the circle
Jake Gardiner and the other Toronto Maple Leafs defencemen like to think they can hold their own in the faceoff circle.
“Sometimes in practice, we’ll just joke around and go against the centremen and tell them we can beat them,” Gardiner said.
Washington Capitals defenceman John Carlson wishes he had that luxury. Angry after he lost a faceoff, he blamed teammate Jay Beagle.
“I used to practise all the time, but the centres don’t let me practise anymore,” Carlson said. “I was 1-for-1 in my career and now I ruined it.”
Such is life for NHL defencemen these days, thrown into the faceoff circle to do something they never figured was in their job description. Like position players taking the mound to pitch in a Major League Baseball game or NFL running backs having to throw a pass, defencemen aren’t accustomed to taking faceoffs and almost never work on it in practice.
But this season, defencemen are in unfamiliar territory more often as officials order forwards out of the circle for failing to follow protocol.
“I think you go there and you pretend to act like a centreman,” Arizona Coyotes defenceman Luke Schenn said.
Faceoffs are one of the most tactical elements in hockey, a chess match played out over a few seconds between players who have spent much of their lives perfecting their craft to win possession of the puck. Key elements are leverage and fast stick work. It’s no place for bigger defencemen with their longer sticks, most of whom are far more comfortable handling the puck once it’s won back to them.
Stricter rule enforcement in the NHL has led to more defencemen taking draws this season and, well, it has been a challenge — even for some of the best players in the world. Schenn called it awkward and unnatural.
“It’s not something you see all the time,” Schenn said. “You see a D-man go in there, you’re probably not going to win too many of them.”
Twelve different defencemen had taken a faceoff before Thursday’s games and 64 since 3-on-3 overtime was instituted in 201516. No matter how many times it happens or how awkward, it’s on the highlight reel and becomes the subject of ribbing from teammates.
“They’re going to give you a hard time because they know it’s not something you do all the time,” Calgary Flames defenceman Michael Stone said. “If you do win one, it’s pure excitement, I think, from everybody.”
Defencemen have been involved in 92 faceoffs over the past twoplus seasons and have won only about a third of them. Maybe a few of the unlikely victories have come from being underestimated.
“It’s funny that when you get a D -man in, a lot of times those centremen relax and the D-men are all in,” said Capitals coach Barry Trotz, who grew up playing defence. “There’s a lot of cheers that go on when a defenceman goes in there and wins a draw.”
Call it perfect timing, call it luck or call it whatever you want. New York Islanders defenceman Johnny Boychuk is 3-for-4 over his career, but still remembers losing his first faceoff and getting mad about it.
Of course, Boychuk has put “zero” practice time into it and has a simple, albeit ugly strategy.
“You just tie up,” Boychuk said. “Try to tie up at least and smack it to the wall. Tell the person that you’re going to try to shoot it, too.”
Or maybe just lose it intentionally, Gardiner suggested, so everyone on your team knows where the puck is going. Because, c’mon, this is probably not going to end well.
“Centremen are so good at faceoffs now, you’re probably going to lose it anyway,” Gardiner said. “You’re kind of just going in there and hoping for the best.”
In 19 NHL seasons, Islanders coach Doug Weight took thousands of faceoffs. But he hadn’t thought much about asking defencemen to practise faceoffs — until now.
“Later in periods, it’s so prevalent getting thrown out now that you want guys that can come in and take a draw,” Weight said. “The only occasion where we’d have a D is if you’re down 4-on-3, 5-on-3. Obviously it’s a huge piece of puck possession.”
That’d be great, but most defencemen don’t want to be embarrassed.
“I’m mostly just playing not to get beat clean,” said Stone, who has spent years practising against brother Mark, a forward for the Ottawa Senators. “I’m not looking to win a faceoff clean, especially on that kind of a play. You just try not to get beat clean, do whatever you can to kind of push that in the direction of your guys.”
Now that the Lightning ’s Victor Hedman has won his first faceoff attempt, he hopes it was his last.
“Hopefully, I don’t have to take any more,” he said, “so I stay 100 per cent for the rest of my career.”
It’s funny that when you get a D-man in (for a faceoff), a lot of times those centremen relax and the D-men are all in.