Ranking the Top 5 Defenses in the NHL

Edging closer to the start of the season, we look at what defenses crack the top 5 in the NHL heading into the 2020-21 season.

At one point or another, we’ve all heard the saying that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. That’s why we’ve decided to take a look at what teams make up the Top 5 defenses in the NHL.

Almost every team has a good top D-pair on their roster, but hockey is a team sport. So if it’s not a matter of star players on the first pair, what makes a good defense then?

A good defense in the NHL is based upon three things. The easiest way to prevent other teams from scoring is to ensure their shots don’t hit the net. To do so, you get in front of every shot you can, thus the teams who block the most shots are generally the better teams.

The second factor is the giveaway and takeaway ratio. Naturally, the more takeaways you have, the more time you have the puck which means fewer scoring opportunities for the opposition.

Lastly, the fundamentals of having a good team include having a perfect breakout. Where does the breakout begin? With the defense.

With all of this being said, let’s take a look at the five teams who do this the best in the NHL. All stats are provided by evolving-hockey.

For a team that won the Stanley Cup just two years ago, the St. Louis Blues are still an elite team in the NHL, and a lot of that is due to their astounding defense. Though for a defense that allowed only 2.01 Goals Against in regulation, what makes them rank in at number five is due to the significant piece they lost this offseason, which just so happened to be their Captain and best player, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

Pietrangelo had a monster season in 2019-20, wherein 70 games played, he put up 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 total points, blocking 89 shots, and totaling just 45 giveaways while registering 43 as well. While the St. Louis Blues still maintain a very solid and deep defensive pool of players, the loss of Pietrangelo will be difficult to compensate for, to say the least.

Granted, the addition of Torey Krug in Free Agency should help to fill some of the void left by Pietrangelo, although Krug is more known for his offensive prowess and ability on the power play.

During the 2019-20 NHL season, despite being limited to just 71 games in the regular season due to COVID-19, the Blues showcased an elite defense that led the league with the lowest Corsi against score per 60 minutes of play (48.92).

What does that mean exactly? To break it down into simpler terms, a Corsi score takes into account goals scored, shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots. So when it comes to Corsi Against, the higher the value represents the defense allows a lot of scoring opportunities, whereas a lower score represents the defense allowing very few scoring opportunities.

The St. Louis Blues and their ability to lock down opposing offenses is also represented in their goals-against average during regulation, as they allowed just 2.01 GA throughout the season. As mentioned before, however, not having Alex Pietrangelo on the back end will surely leave a void that will be left unfilled for quite some time.

Fortunately for them, they have some of the most depth at the position in the entire league, with players whose names may not jump off the board, but they’ll be able to prevent the other team from scoring.