Han-D’men

Han-D’men The only other team with a better record in November than the St. Louis Blues was the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Why? One of the primary reasons is coach Hitchcock’s implementation of a fast moving defense. When moving the puck out of the defensive zone, it is imperative that the defensemen have a good angle to either pass the puck or bank it off the boards and out of the defensive zone with minimal time dealing with the puck. Defensemen are under constant pressure from opposing forwards in the defensive zone and have to be very decisive and quick to act. Since defensemen play in pairs of two and are the last players back in their own zone (ie; closest to the goalie), they are the last line of defense. Literally. If you’re on the right side of the ice and are left handed, you have to settle the puck and turn to get 100% on your outbound pass or bank shot. This takes a split second. A lot can happen in hockey in a split second. Same goes for being right hande...