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In regular play, two defencemen complement three forwards and a goaltender on the ice. Exceptions include overtime during the regular season and when a team is shorthanded (i.e. has been assessed a penalty), in which two defencemen are typically joined by only two forwards and a goaltender. In National Hockey League regular season play in overtime, effective with the 2015-16 season, teams (usually) have only three position players and a goaltender on the ice, and may use either two forwards and one defenceman, orrarelytwo defencemen and one forward.
Organized play of ice hockey originates from the first indoor game in Montreal in 1875. In subsequent years, the players per side were reduced to seven per side. Positions were standardized, and two correspond to the two defencemen of current six-man rules. These were designated as cover point and point, although they lined up behind the center and the rover, unlike today. Decades later, defencemen were standardized into playing left and right sides of the ice.
According to one of the earliest books on ice hockey, Farrell's "Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game" (1899), Mike Grant of the Montreal Victorias, describes the point as "essentially defensive. He should not stray too far from his place, because oftentimes he is practically a second goal-minder ... although he should remain close to his goal-keeper, he should never obstruct that man's view of the puck. He should, as a rule, avoid rushing up the ice, but if he has a good opening for such a play he should give the puck to one of the forwards on the first opportunity and then hasten back to his position, which has been occupied, in the interim, by the cover-point."
Each year the NHL, the premier ice hockey league in the world, presents the James Norris Memorial Trophy to the best defenceman in the league. Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins – an eight-time Norris Trophy recipient – is often considered to be the greatest defenceman in NHL and ice hockey history. In addition to his Norris Trophy honours, he is the only defenceman in NHL history to capture the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. In 1998, Orr was selected as the best defenceman of all-time (second overall player behind Wayne Gretzky) in "The Hockey News"' Top 100 NHL Players of all-time.
Conversely, according to the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team (also chosen by "The Hockey News"), the greatest defencemen to play in IIHF-sanctioned international competition are Vyacheslav Fetisov and Börje Salming.
Defence players are often described by the amount they participate in the offence. The extreme of non-participation in offence is a "stay-at-home" defender, who takes few risks and does not score much, instead focusing on defending against the opposing team. A good example is Rod Langway, who won the Norris Trophy while scoring only three goals that season, as the award winners preceding him were primarily offensive defencemen such as Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, and Larry Robinson.
The extreme of participation is an "offensive defenceman", who gets aggressively involved in the team's offence. To accomplish this, the offensive defence player often pitches in to keep the play from going offside and moves towards the halfboards and high-slot area for scoring opportunities. This makes it difficult for the opposing team to protect their net from being scored upon if the team can maintain control of the puck. However, this can lead to more odd man rushes and breakaway opportunities for the opposing team if the defender does not succeed. Bobby Orr's end-to-end rushing allowed him to defend effectively as well as attack. By contrast, Paul Coffey enjoyed high offensive production but his defensive play was considered mediocre for most of his career.
In the neutral zone, the defence hangs back towards his or her own blue line, usually playing the puck up to other teammates. According to Jay Leach, who writes for NHL.com's "learn to play hockey" section, the defence must "Move the puck hard and quick to the open man. Join the rush, [but] do not lead it." Because of this responsibility, defencemen must read the other team's defensive strategy effectively in order to make an effective first pass that furthers the offensive momentum without leaving the defenceman out of position should his team lose control of the puck. In certain situations the best option could be to skate the puck into the zone to maintain offensive speed as well as preventing an offside.
In the offensive zone, the defence skaters usually "play the blue line." It is their duty to keep the puck in the offensive zone by stopping it from crossing the blue line that demarcates where the offensive zone begins. Should the puck cross this line, the offence cannot touch the puck in their opponent's zone without stopping play (see offside). Defencemen must be quick to pass the puck around, helping their forwards to open up shooting lanes, or taking open shots themselves when they become available. The defence must also be able to skate quickly to cut off any breakaways, moving themselves back into the defensive zone ahead of the onrushing opponent.
Essentially in all three zones of the rink, the defence is the backstop for the puck. It should never go behind the defence, unless the player lets it. The defence keeps the momentum of play squarely directed towards the opposing goal, or at least away from his own.
Because defencemen are often expected to shoot on the opposing net from long range, these players often develop the hardest and most accurate slapshots. This is because taking a more stationary position on the blue line rewards pure accuracy and patience, rather than the adept hand–eye coordination attributed to forwards. Al MacInnis, who was seven times decorated with "Hardest Shot" in NHL skills competitions, was able to score frequently from the blue line because his slapshot was simply too fast to block effectively.
When a team is on a power play, a defence player can set up plays in the offensive zone, and distribute the puck to the teammate that he or she feels is in the best position to score, similar to a point guard in basketball, a playmaker in soccer, and a quarterback in American football and Canadian football. For this reason, a defenceman will often be described as the power play "quarterback". This is also referred to as "playing the point" (this term derives not from the basketball position, but from an older name for the defence position in hockey itself).
During faceoffs in the defensive zone, most teams have their defence players pair up with opposing wingers to tie them up while leaving his team's forwards open to move the puck, though this is at the discretion of the individual coach. In the offensive zone, the defence player acts in his or her usual role, keeping control of the puck as the forwards fight for position.
In the first organized ice hockey, (see Amateur Hockey Association of Canada), defencemen used to line up in an "I" formation behind the rover (defunct) as "point" and "cover point". Defence is still referred to as "playing the point", though this term now refers mostly to the role of defencemen on the power-play.
The forecheck is an ice hockey defensive play made in the offensive zone with the objective of applying pressure to the opposing team to regain control of the puck. It is a type of checking. Forechecking is generally executed in one of three situations: recovery of the puck after a dump in, after the rebound on a scoring attempt, or immediately after a turnover to regain possession. Forechecking can be aggressive or conservative depending on the coaching style and on the skating skills of the players. Aggressive forechecking strategies are more suited for players with good skating mobility, while more conservative plays such as the neutral zone trap are better suited for players with less agility.
In ice hockey, butterfly style is a technique of goaltending distinguished by the goaltender guarding the lower part of the net by dropping to the knees to block attempts to score. The butterfly style derives its name from the resemblance of the spread goal pads and hands to a butterfly's wings. The "butterfly style" is contrasted with stand-up style, where most shots on a goal are stopped with the goaltender on his feet.
Many factors helped make it a "de facto" standard style of play today, including the popularization of the goalie mask by Jacques Plante, Vladislav Tretiak's outstanding use of the style at the 1972 Canada–USSR Summit Series, the National Hockey League (NHL) emergence of Tony Esposito in the 1970s and Dominik Hasek in the 1990s, the development of lightweight materials for pads and the influence of professional goaltending coaches such as Warren Strelow, and Benoit and François Allaire.
There are few who exclusively employ a stand-up style in the NHL.Although it is effective and popular among goaltenders, the butterfly style can leave the upper portion of the net more vulnerable to scoring attempts.
The modern profly derivative was made most popular by Patrick Roy and is the style most commonly used and taught. The profly style is a specialized progression of the butterfly style. The name derives from a goaltending leg pad model designed specifically for the use of the butterfly. The term eventually evolved into a style for goaltenders who tend to use the butterfly save technique as a base for the majority of their save selections.
The term "hybrid" is commonly used to measure how far a goaltender strays from using the butterfly technique as a base save. Some goaltending circles use the term "hybrid" as a middling term from a pure butterfly goaltender to a pure stand-up goaltender.
As in many arts, there is no universal agreement on style classifications with modern goaltending techniques. Modern hybrid coaches such as the late Warren Strelow worked with goaltenders associated with the profly style such as Miikka Kiprusoff. The butterfly is not a style but a save selection used by most goaltenders.
The butterfly style is contrasted with "stand-up" style goaltenders. The "profly" and the "hybrid" are more specialized progressions of collections of technical moves enveloped within the modern "butterfly" style. The butterfly term is often used to describe the newer "profly" style of goaltending refined by players including Ed Belfour, making it popular in the early 2000s by goaltenders such as Rick DiPietro, Martin Biron, Roberto Luongo, Marc-André Fleury, Marc Denis, Henrik Lundqvist and Jean-Sébastien Giguère, the latter being very profly-oriented.
The original "stand-up" style is considered obsolete by modern goaltending circles. However, there are still a few remaining goaltenders who are commonly said to be in the furthest hybrid spectrum opposite of a pure profly goaltender. These few are often considered to occupy the "modern stand-up" style of goaltending. A modern stand-up goaltender almost never completely commits to a full butterfly and stays on their feet as much as possible. Modern stand-up goaltenders commonly have excellent mobility on their skates and show above-average proficiency in puck-handling and making saves with their stick. Martin Brodeur was arguably the last stand-up goaltender remaining in the NHL.
There are a number of other recent technical innovations in response to the puck and shooter position on the ice.
A hallmark of profly is the puck-side leg staying down when recovering to the skates fully upright, to reposition for a rebound or second shot. Rather than picking up the leg closest to the puck, the leg furthest away from the puck is raised, then pushing the puck-side leg toward the puck. At this point, the goaltender may roll back onto the puck-side skate blade, facing the shooter in the familiar ready stance.
Profly goaltenders tend to have an easier time "skating" on their knees, also known as the "backside push", or the "butterfly slide". This term describes where one leg is down, and one is up. The goaltender pushes with his/her leg up laterally from the heel, laterally toward the down leg. This allows for a slide from the up leg to the down leg without getting off the ice completely. If a goaltender is on the inside corners or if the pad faces as in non-progressed "butterfly" styles, the push results in a tendency to roll over onto one's chest and belly.
The V-H move (also called the Split Butterfly or loading the post) is a move with which profly style goaltenders identify. This is a relatively recent tactical response to a shooter that is advancing from behind the net towards the front of the net, and has the option to pass. The goaltender places the knee farthest from the shooter down horizontally along the goal line. The knee closest to the puck remains vertical next to the goal post. The advantage is on coverage against quick shots to the near side of the net, while still covering the option to track passes to the front of the goal mouth.
Enforcer is an unofficial role in ice hockey. The term is sometimes used synonymously with "fighter", "tough guy", or "goon". An enforcer's job is to deter and respond to dirty or violent play by the opposition. When such play occurs, the enforcer is expected to respond aggressively, by fighting or checking the offender. Enforcers are expected to react particularly harshly to violence against star players or goalies.
Enforcers are different from pests, players who seek to agitate opponents and distract them from the game, without necessarily fighting them. The pest's primary role is to draw penalties from opposing players, thus "getting them off their game", while not actually intending to fight the opposition player (although exceptions to this do occur). Pests and enforcers often play together on the same line, usually the fourth line.
At present in the National Hockey League (NHL), teams generally do not carry more than one player whose primary role is that of an enforcer. Enforcers can play either forward or defense, although they are most frequently used as wingers on the fourth forward checking line. Prized for their aggression, size, checking ability, and fists, enforcers are typically less gifted at skill areas of the game than their teammates. Enforcers are typically among the lowest scoring players on the team and receive a smaller share of ice time. They are also not highly paid compared to other players, and tend to move from team to team.
Enforcers sometimes take boxing lessons to improve their fighting. Some players combine aspects of the enforcer role with strong play in other areas of the game. Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, and Chris Simon are examples of enforcers who showed an occasional scoring flair, with Williams and Probert playing in the midseason All-Star Game. Terry O'Reilly once scored 90 points in a season, being the first player to finish in the top ten regular season scorers while amassing at least 200 penalty minutes, and later became captain of the Boston Bruins.
Sometimes enforcers can do their job by virtue of their reputation. Clark Gillies was among the best fighters in the NHL during his prime, but over time he rarely had to fight because opponents respected and feared him enough that they would not go after his teammates. Some skilled players, such as legends Gordie Howe and NHL all-star Jarome Iginla, are also capable fighters and can function effectively as their own enforcer. A "Gordie Howe hat trick" is a player scoring a goal, assisting on a goal, and being involved in a fight during a single game.
In the 1970s, the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers were known respectively as the "Big Bad Bruins" and "Broad Street Bullies", for stocking up on grinders and enforcers.
Retired enforcer Georges Laraque has suggested the National Hockey League Players' Association provide counselling to enforcers, and sports journalist and writer Roy Macgregor opines that in light of recent tragic events there should be more done about it, including eliminating the role altogether. "New York Times" sportswriter John Branch covered Boogaard's death and the epidemic of chronic traumatic encephalopathy that has come as a result of frequent head trauma sustained by hockey enforcers.
The inventor of the saucer pass is commonly credited as the Finnish ice hockey legend, Raimo Helminen. According to the book "Raipe - vaatimattomuuden lyhyt oppimäärä", he invented the pass when he was playing against grown-up men from his neighborhood when he was a young child in Koivistonkylä, Tampere, Finland.
A breakaway is a situation in ice hockey in which a player with the puck has no defending players, except for the goaltender, between himself and the opposing goal, leaving him free to skate in and shoot at will (before the out-of-position defenders can catch him). A breakaway is considered a lapse on the part of the defending team. If a player's progress is illegally impeded by an opposing player or if the goalie throws his stick at the oncoming player, the breakaway player is awarded a penalty shot. If a player faces an empty net (i.e. the opposing team has pulled their goalie) and is illegally impeded by an opposing player, he is automatically awarded a goal for his team instead of taking a penalty shot.
The 2-1-2 forecheck, or pinch on a wide rim is an ice hockey forechecking strategy which uses two forwards deep in the offensive zone, with the remaining forward positioned high in the offensive zone, and the two defencemen positioned at the highest part of the zone near the blue line. This forecheck is used to apply both mental and physical pressure on the opposing team as they try to move the puck out of their defensive zone with objective of forcing a turnover. The positioning of the players removes options for moving the puck along the boards, forcing the play to the middle.
Each of the five skaters has a specific role in the execution of the 2-1-2 forecheck.
This system of forechecking needs to have good skaters in order to be successful. The Edmonton Oilers during their dynasty years were such a club and made use of the 2-1-2 forecheck.
In ice hockey, power forward (PWF) is a loosely applied characterization of a forward who is big and strong, equally capable of playing physically or scoring goals and would most likely have high totals in both points and penalties. It is usually used in reference to a forward who is physically large, with the toughness to dig the puck out of the corners, possesses offensive instincts, has mobility, puck-handling skills, may be difficult to knock off the puck or to push away from the front of the goal and willingly engage in fights when he feels it is required. Possessing both physical size and offensive ability, power forwards are also often referred to as the 'complete' hockey player.
Historically, "power forward" was not originally a hockey term, finding comparatively recent origins from basketball. Harry Sinden, former president of the Boston Bruins, claims "power forward" first became part of hockey terminology because of the style of play of Cam Neely, an NHL player from 1983 to 1996, who could play ruggedly and also score goals.
Charlie Conacher was the first player to pioneered the style of a power forward in the 1930s, while Gordie Howe is likewise considered a quintessential example of a power forward in the decades before the term entered hockey vernacular.
In February 2001, "Hockey Digest" published a list of the NHL's best pests. They were: Bob Kelly, Matt Cooke, Esa Tikkanen, Tomas Holmström, Darius Kasparaitis, Ian Laperrière, Tyson Nash, Todd Harvey, Matthew Barnaby, Kris Draper, Bill Lindsay, Jamal Mayers and Steve Staios.
In 2009, "Sports Illustrated" also compiled their own list of "Notable Pests of the NHL". Their list was: Sean Avery, Claude Lemieux, Steve Ott, Jordin Tootoo, Jarkko Ruutu, Matt Cooke, Alexandre Burrows, Chris Neil, Ian Laperrière, Darcy Tucker, Chris Simon, Matthew Barnaby, Theo Fleury, Pat Verbeek, Esa Tikkanen, Ken Linseman and Tiger Williams.
This position is commonly referred to by the side of the rink that the winger normally takes, i.e. "left wing" or "right wing." The side of the rink the player played on traditionally related to the side of their body they take a shot from (i.e. left-shooting playing left wing) but in recent decades more wingers have played the "off wing" meaning the opposite side of the direction they shoot, which enables faster release shots if receiving a pass while standing stationary in the offensive zone.
The wingers' responsibilities in the offensive zone include the following:
Wingers should be playing high in the zone (close to the blue line), typically covering the defensemen of the opposing team, meaning they block passes from going to the defencemen and block shots from the defenceman. Wingers should always be vigilant for a breakout pass or a chance to chip the puck past the defenceman of the opposing team across the blue line. When wingers receive a pass along the boards, they can exercise a number of options:
Wingers are usually the last players to backcheck out of the offensive zone. On the backcheck, it is essential that they cover the last free opposing player rushing in. Once the puck is controlled by the opposing team in the defensive zone, however, wingers are responsible for covering the defenceman on their side of the ice.
Prior to the puck being dropped for a face-off, players other than those taking the face-off must not make any physical contact with players on the opposite team, nor enter the face-off circle (where marked). After the puck is dropped, it is essential for wingers to engage the opposing players to prevent them from obtaining possession of the puck.
Once a team has established control of the puck, wingers can set themselves up into an appropriate position.
Some wingers are also employed to handle faceoffs.
In ice hockey, cycling is an offensive strategy that moves the puck along the boards in the offensive zone to create a scoring chance by making defenders tired or moving them out of position.
In ice hockey, a screen is obstruction by a player of the goaltender's view of the puck. The word can also be used as a verb, commonly "don't "screen" the goaltender", or "the goalie was "screened"". Screens can be both planned, as when an attacking forward positions himself in front of the net, or accidental, like when a defensemen accidentally blocks the goaltender's view. Attacking players may attempt to take advantage of a screen by taking a shot, which is more difficult for the opposing goaltender to save if he is being screened.
The most recognizable implementation of the trap sees the defense stationing four of their players in the neutral zone and one forechecker in the offensive zone. As the offensive team starts to move up the ice, the forechecker (generally the center) will cut off passing lanes to other offensive players by staying in the middle of the ice, forcing the puck carrier to either sideboard. The defensive wingers—typically placed on or near the red line—will be positioned by the boards to challenge the puck carrier, prevent passing, or even keep opponents from moving through. The two defencemen who are positioned on or near the blue lines are the last defence, and must stall the opposition long enough for the wingers to reset themselves and continue the trap.
Checking in ice hockey is any of a number of defensive techniques aimed at disrupting an opponent with possession of the puck or separating them from the puck entirely. Most types are not subject to penalty.
New NHL standard of rule enforcement, 2005–06.
For the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted stricter enforcement of many checking violations that in previous seasons would not have been penalized. The intent of the new standard of enforcement was to fundamentally alter the way ice hockey is played, rewarding speed and agility over brute strength, as well as increasing opportunities for scoring and minimizing stoppage of play. However, it is unclear how expanding the definition of a penalty would minimize the stoppage of play, as penalty calls entail play stoppage. One explanation may be that more clearly defined rules give players more distinct boundaries on penalties, resulting in fewer penalties. The intended result is a faster-paced game with generally higher scores than in previous years.
New USA Hockey rules on checking, 2011–12.
Beginning in the 2011–12 season, USA Hockey moved the age of legal body checking from 12U to 14U. The discussion of this rule change began with a look into Peewee (12U) and Squirt (10U) levels of hockey. Through observation, it was clear that Squirts skate more aggressively and try to play in the correct manner. Peewees in similar situations would either let the opponent get the puck first so they can check them or hold back so they don't get hit themselves. Injury was not an initial concern, but with research it was brought into the discussion. Research shows that the 11-year-old brain has not developed skills to anticipate. As a result, Peewees acquire injuries four times more in checking vs. non-checking hockey.
An extra attacker in ice hockey is a forward or, less commonly, a defenceman who has been substituted in place of the goaltender. The purpose of this substitution is to gain an offensive advantage to score a goal. The removal of the goaltender for an extra attacker is colloquially called "pulling the goalie", resulting in an empty net.
The extra attacker is typically utilized in two situations:
The term sixth attacker is also used when both teams are at even strength; teams may also pull the goalie when shorthanded by a player, in which case the extra attacker would be a fifth attacker. It is exceptionally rare for a penalized team to do so during five on three situations.
Also, in overtime, an extra attacker is added automatically when a team down one player because of penalty is penalised again for a second minor penalty; the team on the power play will play five on three for the rest of the two-man advantage, and until the next whistle. In leagues with a three on three overtime, each minor penalty results in an extra attacker for the team on the power play.
Russian and Soviet coaches are known for refusing to pull their goalies when behind late in games, as was the case in the 1980 Winter Olympics medal game between the Soviet Union and the USA.
The extra attacker concept was first utilized in the NHL by Art Ross, coach and general manager of the Boston Bruins, who picked up the idea from experimental incidents in amateur and minor-league hockey. In a playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 26, 1931, Ross had goaltender Tiny Thompson go to the bench for a sixth skater in the final minute of play; the Bruins failed to score and lost the game 1–0.
A 2018 model by Aaron Brown and Cliff Asness based on the 2015–16 NHL season suggested that, for a team down one point where losing 2–0 is no worse than losing 1–0, the ideal to time to pull the goalie is somewhere between 5 and 6 minutes from the end of the match.
Each team has three forwards on each line:
The left wing lock is a defensive ice hockey strategy similar to the neutral zone trap.
In the most basic form, once puck possession changes, the left wing moves back in line with the defencemen. Each defender (including the left winger) plays a zone defence and is responsible for a third of the ice each. Since there are normally only two defencemen, this tactic helps to avoid odd man rushes.
With the reinforced defensive line, the centre and right wing forecheck aggressively. Often the forecheckers will try to drive the puck over to the opponent's right wing.
Under coach Scotty Bowman, the Detroit Red Wings began using "the lock" heavily during the 1994-95 NHL season, earning the President's Trophy for the league's best record during the regular season. The following season Detroit was even more dominant, finishing one point short of the NHL record for most points in a season by a team. However, the system broke down during the playoffs each year, especially as they were frustrated by the neutral zone trap strategy employed by Jacques Lemaire's New Jersey Devils in the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. It was not until 1997 that Detroit broke through and finally matched their regular-season success with a Stanley Cup championship.
Although "the lock" was made famous by the Red Wings and has been used to great success in their Stanley Cup runs in the past decade, they are not credited with inventing it. The "lock" was invented in Czechoslovakia to work against the dominant Soviet teams of the 1970s. A former assistant coach under Scotty Bowman, Barry Smith, was credited with seeing the left wing lock in Europe and bringing it back to the Red Wings.
The simplicity of "the lock" has made it popular at all levels of hockey and it is not uncommon to see it implemented in youth hockey.
While grinder often refers to a player of lesser offensive skills, this is not always the case. NHL Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Clarke of the 1970s and 80s Philadelphia Flyers was considered a grinder, but was also a highly productive offensive player. While a "grinder" plays a physical style of hockey they are distinguished from an "enforcer". While most "grinders" will fight, some do not; "grinder" refers specifically to a style of defensive hockey which is within the rules of the game. Sometimes grinder is used in combination with "mucker" to describe a player as a "mucker and a grinder", although it is used as emphasis. In this context, mucker is largely synonymous with grinder.
Indicative of the importance of the grinder is that Bobby Clarke and Mike Eruzione, both grinder-style players, played major roles in their respective countries' victories over the offensively-skilled Soviet Union national team. Clarke was a significant factor in Team Canada's victory in the 1972 Super Series, as was Eruzione as captain for the United States' Olympic team in the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" victory. Clarke received the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward late in his playing career.
In 2012, "The Hockey News" named Dave Bolland of the NHL Chicago Blackhawks as "Best Grinder".
In ice hockey, a two-way forward is a forward who handles the defensive aspects of the game as well as the offensive aspects. Typically, a player's frame is not an issue in whether he can be a two-way forward. Perseverance is key to being a two-way forward, as it is an attribute that gives rise to battling in the corners or preventing odd man rushes by the opposing team. A two-way forward can contribute for the team both offensively and defensively, scoring important game-winning goals or making big plays from which his team receives a significant advantage over the opponent team. As such, good two-way forwards are often capable playmakers.
Two-way forwards that do not have top offensive numbers are sometimes left in the shadows of high-scoring forwards and so are rarely named to all-star games or all-star teams, but commentators often reiterate their importance to a team. The National Hockey League (NHL) presents its best two-way forward with the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded to the forward ""who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game"."
The system is used in international hockey by the Swedish team, due to the large ice surface, and the lack of a two-line pass offside (which would stop play with a two-line pass). It contrasted the neutral zone trap, which was popular in the 1990s, and which stifled fast skating and playmaking by crowding the neutral zone with players. The system was originated by the Boston Bruins of the late 1950s; it was later adopted by the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1960s. The torpedo mode could not be completely implemented in the National Hockey League until 2005 when the red line was eliminated, allowing for two-line passes to spring the torpedoes.
The system was used to describe the Swedish national men's hockey team's approach during the 2002 Winter Games, which was punctuated by a preliminary 5-2 win over the eventual gold-medal winning Canadian team.
Loafing, floating, or cherry picking in ice hockey is a manoeuver in which a player, the floater (usually a forward, but occasionally a defenceman who used to play the forward position, but can no longer skate the complete length of the ice at pace), literally loafs — spends time in idleness — or casually skates behind the opposing team's unsuspecting defencemen while they are in their attacking zone. It is very similar to the cherry picking tactic sometimes used in basketball. Its controversy is also very similar to that of cherry picking in basketball.
The tactic is used sparingly as although it sometimes creates a breakaway opportunity for the defending team should they manage to take control of the puck and pass it to the floater, it also creates a five-on-four situation (during even strength play) for the attacking team. Also, a good defenceman usually keeps an eye open for the development of these potential situations where he would immediately backcheck once a floater is spotted.
A deke feint or fake is an ice hockey technique whereby a player draws an opposing player out of position or is used to skate by an opponent while maintaining possession and control of the puck. The term is a Canadianism formed by abbreviating the word "decoy".
One type is the "head fake", using a movement of the head to fool an opposing player over the player's movements or intention.
A more complex deke is the "toe drag", a deke in which the puck carrier brings the puck forward on their forehand, and subsequently turns their stick and pulls the puck towards themselves with the toe of the blade, while moving past the defender, who has presumably attempted to poke check the puck in its previous position.
On defense in American football, rushing is charging across the line of scrimmage towards the quarterback or kicker in the effort to stop or "sack" them. The purpose is tackling, hurrying or flushing the quarterback, or blocking or disrupting a kick. In both college and professional football, getting a strong pass rush is an important skill, as even an average quarterback can be productive if he has enough time to find an open receiver, even against a good secondary. To increase pressure, teams will sometimes use a pass-rushing specialist, who is usually a quick defensive end or outside linebacker tasked with aggressively rushing the quarterback in obvious passing situations.
One of the most effective methods of rushing the passer is by using a stunt or twist, which is when defensive players quickly change positions at the snap of the ball and engage a different blocker than the offense expected, Defenses typically task three or four defensive lineman to rush the passer on most plays, but most will occasionally increase pressure by blitzing one or more non-lineman at the quarterback when a pass play is anticipated.
A pass rush can be effective even if it does not sack the quarterback if it forces the passer to get rid of the ball before he wanted to, resulting in an incomplete pass or interception. To attack a strong pass rush, offenses can throw quicker short passes or run draw plays or screen passes, which are design to lure defenders into the offensive backfield and then quickly get a ball carrier behind them.
The run and shoot offense (also known as Run N' Shoot) is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses. It was conceived by former high school coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison and refined and popularized by former Portland State offensive coordinator Mouse Davis.
The run and shoot system uses a formation consisting of one running back and usually four wide receivers. This system makes extensive use of receiver motion (having a receiver suddenly change position by running left or right, parallel to the line of scrimmage, just before the ball is snapped), both to create advantageous mismatches with the opposing defensive players and to help reveal what coverage the defense is using. If a defender stays with the motioning receiver, it would imply man-to-man coverage.
The basic idea behind the run and shoot is a flexible offense that adjusts "on the fly," with the receivers changing their routes based on the defensive coverage and play of the defenders covering them. The quarterback then not only reads the defensive coverage to determine where to throw the ball, but must also read the defenders to determine the probable route his receivers may run. As a result, the offense is considered complex and difficult to implement due to the intelligence and communication required between quarterback and receivers. The offense also typically relies heavily on the pass, sometimes throwing the ball upwards of 65 to 75% in a game or over the course of a season.
In the purest form of the offense, the proper complement would consist of two wide receivers lined up on the outside edges of the formation and two "slotbacks" (wide receivers who line up one step back from the line of scrimmage, so as not to be considered "covered" and thus ineligible) lined up just outside and behind the two offensive tackles. The formation would look very similar to the Flexbone Offense formation.
The original inventor of the run and shoot, Glenn "Tiger" Ellison, first started out with a formation that overloaded the left side of the offensive line for his scrambling quarterback. He called it "The Lonesome Polecat".
Many of the National Football League teams that used the run and shoot in the early 1990s used true wide receivers in all four receiving positions.
Originally, the run and shoot was set up so the quarterback would be under center with the running back lined up a few yards behind him. Later, during his tenure with the University of Hawaii, June Jones used quarterback Colt Brennan out of the shotgun. In this case the running back is usually offset to the right or left of the quarterback.
Also at Hawaii, Nick Rolovich tweaked the formation to run out of the pistol, thus creating an opportunity for a mobile quarterback to become a second running back. This led to increased success in the running game.
Another formation that can often be seen with the run and shoot is the trips formation, where three wide receivers are situated to the right or left side of the line of scrimmage. Most of the time, this formation will be created out of motion when the W or Y receiver moves to the opposite side of the formation helping force defenses to declare whether they are in man-to-man coverage or zone defense.
The Portland State Vikings under head coach Mouse Davis went 42–24 in his tenure installing the offense and putting the system on the map. Quarterback Neil Lomax set many records including career NCAA passing yards.
At the University of Hawaii, June Jones went 76–41 including seeing quarterback Timmy Chang set a record for most NCAA completions and passing yards in 2004 and quarterback Colt Brennan set a record for touchdown passes in 2006 with 58. In 2018, Hawaii brought back the run and shoot offense under former Hawaii QB and head coach Nick Rolovich.
A hard count by a quarterback at the beginning of a gridiron football play is an audible snap count that uses an irregular, accented (thus, the term "hard") cadence. When used, the center will hike the ball to the quarterback on an accented syllable (for example, "hut one ... hut two ... hut three ... hut hut HUT").