Which NHL team has the deepest defense so far?

Three weeks worth of games does not a season make. But with just a little under a month of the 2016-17 in the books, we already have a pretty good idea of what is working – or not working – for teams around the league. That includes team depth, both up front and on the blue line.

Having a killer defense goes beyond having one star blue liner or a solid goaltender. It takes multiple D-pairs with good chemistry, trust in the guy between the pipes and a lack of fear when it comes to get in front of even the nastiest slap shots. A smothering penalty kill doesn’t hurt either.

Now, a couple weeks into the 2016-17 season, we can take a look at which teams’ defenses are holding down the fort like brick walls, and which have a closer resemblance to Swiss cheese. Here’s a look at defensive depth across the league. (Please keep in mind that this is looking into how teams are performing through the first couple of weeks, and that there’s no need to "get defensive" if the team you root for doesn’t make the cut.)

Deep: Sure there still might be a bit of hesitation in talking up the Montreal Canadiens after what happened to them last season, when they got  off to a 9-0-0 start before spiraling spectacularly out of control. But it is hard to ignore how well they have been playing so far this season, particularly on the back end. Carey Price’s return is living up to its hype, as the netminder has a registered 1.40 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage.

Interestingly enough the Habs have recently come up in trade rumor talks regarding defensemen, with whispers that they are looking to build up their blue line. Although, they have performed well in front of Price so far this season, perhaps showing their best defensive effort against division rival Tampa Bay Lightning (who despite being early season favorites to make another deep playoff run have gone on a three-game skid since losing 3-1 to Montreal last week). The Canadiens’ penalty kill is also getting the job done, currently ranked fourth in the league at 88.6%.

Plus it’s no secret that Shea Weber is thriving on Montreal’s blue line, not just from a defensive standpoint but also from an offensive one.

Not-So-Deep: It’s been a rough start for the Philadelphia Flyers’ as a whole, as they have had trouble finding the back of the net. The defense is doing them no favors, as it is currently given up the most goals (38, roughly 3.80 per game). Part of that has to do with goaltending, as both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth have given up goals that they would surely like to have back. Part is that the defense hasn’t been particularly sharp playing the puck in their own zone, with the most recent example being the rough outing that defenseman Ivan Provorov had against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Now, the Flyers defense could be due for an upswing when Michael Del Zotto returns to the lineup from injury. Time will tell if the upcoming weeks will be better for Philadelphia than the last.

Deep: Of the teams in the Metropolitan Division, the defensive effort from the Rangers stands out the most.

New York is currently sitting just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins in their division. Despite starting netminder Henrik Lundqvist not being very consistent, the team is only surrendering an average 2.44 goals per game. Top pairing of Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi is playing a good two-way game – well, when Girardi isn’t getting his head bashed in by David Pastrnak – and the second pair of Marc Staal and Nick Holden is showing improvement. Being that the season is so young, this is a defense that can warm up and be even tougher to play against in the coming months. Granted it will also be tested in the upcoming week, with the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers visiting Madison Square Gardens this week.

Not-So-Deep: The Boston Bruins’ goaltending situation is taking the spotlight, but their defense isn’t doing much better. Yes, they are missing some key pieces to start off the campaign and there is young blood in the corps – Brandon Carlo, who has recently been paired with Zdeno Chara, is 19 years old, and in his first year in the big leagues but carrying the weight and responsibility of a vet. But that shouldn’t necessarily lead to the defense crumbling like it did in their 5-2 loss to the Rangers last week, with turnovers and penalty trouble peppering their play the first few weeks.

Again, the team is missing some key pieces at the moment and the season has only just begun. Plus, Tuukka Rask’s return from injury helped to snap the Bruins’ three-game losing skid. But at the rate that Boston’s defense has been flailing, they are in trouble to digging themselves into a hole in the standings that it could be very difficult to claw out of.

Deep: There are two defensive threats out west that traveling teams should be extra prepared for: the Wild in the Central and the Sharks out on the coast.

All things have been clicking for the Minnesota Wild so far this season, particularly on defense. It helps that Devan Dubnyk has been playing out of this mind the last few weeks, pitching two consecutive shutouts while registering a 1.44 goals-against average and .952 save percentage. The crew in front of him is also clicking, especially on special teams where Minnesota leads the league with a penalty kill at 96.2%.

San Jose has its own solid netminder in Martin Jones, but it’s the defense in front of him that is clicking so well. Brent Burns steals the spotlight, with his 26 blocked shots and off-ice wardrobe . But top pairing of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun has been dominant and the third pair of Brenden Dillon and David Schlemko have found chemistry early in the season.

Not-So-Deep: The Arizona Coyotes are off to a rough start, and that’s putting it lightly.

There was hope for this mostly young team at the start of the season, but they are giving up more to the opposition than they would like. The Oliver Ekman-Larsson led blue line is doing little to help out goaltender Louis Domingue, leaving the team surrendering an average 4.13 goals per game. New acquisition Alex Goligoski is racking up assists but has yet to translate that into defensive help for the team.

The Coyotes’ tendency to take penalties isn’t so good either since their penalty kill, while not the worst in the league, is still only successfully making it through 72.4% of shorthanded situations. To make it sting even more, Arizona’s last four losses have been one-goal tilts – something that could be remedied if the defense can tighten up the screws.