The Softest Defense in the NHL won the Stanley Cup

[TheAnswer74]

Very interesting...

[Buffalo87]

We won the Cup?

[TheAnswer74]

We won the Cup?

We are far from the Softest.

The Sabres may be 2nd, but Detroit is way ahead of them.

Detroit doesn't hit much. They don't clear the net. They don't get into scrums.

What they do is play smart, deny entry into the offensive zone, and move the puck out.

[bduff54]

they have some hitters, kronwall is huge open ice hitter.

that being said i do get your point, however they have lidstron and rafalski, 2 of the best d-men in the last 15 years.

its not a model that can be easily replicated. Lidstrom is probably the best defenseman any of us have seen in our lifetimes.

[TheAnswer74]

they have some hitters, kronwall is huge open ice hitter.

that being said i do get your point, however they have lidstron and rafalski, 2 of the best d-men in the last 15 years.

its not a model that can be easily replicated. Lidstrom is probably the best defenseman any of us have seen in our lifetimes.

Lidstrom is amazing, he is the smartest not the toughest.

What Im getting at, should Sabres bring back Teppo Numminen?

He wont clear the net, he wont fight, but he will get the puck out of the zone.

[3LH]

What Im getting at, should Sabres bring back Teppo Numminen?

He wont clear the net, he wont fight, but he will get the puck out of the zone.

If Teppo is willing to take a pay cut, I think he'd be great to have next season. He brings a calming, veteran presence to the D. It was nice to see his smoothness briefly at the end of the year. It was missed.

[Blofan4life]

Detroit may have the softest defense in the world but almost all of their forwards will sprint back to get on defense. The have probably the best set of defensive-forwards in the league. Defense is played on a team effort not just with defenders.

[bduff54]

Lidstrom is amazing, he is the smartest not the toughest.

What Im getting at, should Sabres bring back Teppo Numminen?

He wont clear the net, he wont fight, but he will get the puck out of the zone.


sure why not, it is kind of irrelevant though, he is like 45 years old and probably can't stay healthy.

[TheAnswer74]

sure why not, it is kind of irrelevant though, he is like 45 years old and probably can't stay healthy.

He is 2 years older than Lidstrom.

[stevesy]

The Presidents Trophy winning team also won. Some armchair coaches on here are gonna have to go back to the drawing board.

[matthew94]

Detroit denies entry by excellent positioning and make extremely accurate and soft passes out of the defensive zone. I was amazed by the disparity b/w the passes from their D and Pittsburgh's D. I like Teppo, but I'd like a younger cheaper Teppo clone even better.

[ddpderek]

I dont know the Leafs D is full of a bunch of Pansies.

[stevesy]

Detroit denies entry by excellent positioning and make extremely accurate and soft passes out of the defensive zone. I was amazed by the disparity b/w the passes from their D and Pittsburgh's D.

They are also masters of obstruction. Like, they're really really good at making illegal obstruction look like its either legal or an accident.

[bduff54]

He is 2 years older than Lidstrom.

lets not compare teppo to a legendary freak

[SabreBill30]

We are far from the Softest.

The Sabres may be 2nd, but Detroit is way ahead of them.

Detroit doesn't hit much. They don't clear the net. They don't get into scrums.

What they do is play smart, deny entry into the offensive zone, and move the puck out.
excellent post. Detroit played team defense. It also helps when you lead all teams in the regular season with goals for and goals against.

[Smapdi]

There defensemen are very smart. Not many gimmie passes allowed.

They give up very few quality scoring chances. Lidstrom is the best in the league and has been for a while now.

[SCBILLFAN1]

Detroits d soft? They are great. That's why they won the cup.
They line you up at the blue line, they don't allow rotational offense and they cut off passing lanes better than any team in the nhl.
Just because they don't fly into corners like madmen doesn't make them soft.

[Iggy72]

They don't commit turnovers much either.
I love Orpik's game, but I still have visions of his kamikaze play that led to Filpula's goal in Game 4. You won't see Lidstrom do that.

Pax.
Iggy72

[SabreBill30]

They are also masters of obstruction. Like, they're really really good at making illegal obstruction look like its either legal or an accident.
Notice all the pick plays? They are good.