Hughes, Faber have been difference-makers for Wild

Paired with offensive dynamo Quinn Hughes, Faber forms one-half of arguably the most dominant defensive pairing in the entire playoff field.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by former NHL video coach Steve Peters to discuss the massive impact the Hughes-Faber pairing has made for Minnesota.

Carter Hutton: We knew this was going to be a heavyweight bout, and one that people make that argument all the time: Why are we seeing it in the first round? But something that I’ve noticed is how good have Hughes and Faber been? That pairing, like, they’ve been a lot of fun to watch. And I know that was the big trade of the year, right? Quinn Hughes going to the Minnesota Wild. How has this adjustment been? These are two world-class players.

Steve Peters: What [Hughes] does with the puck almost every time he touches it is special, but Faber’s been better. When you put those two guys on the ice, when you get a pair of defensemen that are leading the rush, you get a pair of defensemen that are up on the forecheck, you get a pair of defensemen driving the net and leading your offense, it’s special. And most teams don’t have guys that you can throw over the boards and go. Okay you’ve got Draisaitl and McDavid in Edmonton. Yeah, throw them over the boards, you can score. In Minnesota, it’s two defensemen. When they jump over the boards, something can happen offensively for this team, and Faber’s been the best player in the series. Like he has taken his play absolutely to a new level, not just he can defend because he can skate well enough, but his play inside the blue line, if you’re not watching this guy play right now, he has been absolutely special. And he’s going to have to be because, I think Dallas started off their series last year with Colorado a little bit slow before they started to roll. When Dallas gets rolling, this team is dangerous, so Minnesota is going to need all they can get from their back end.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…