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Stopping Those Shots Off the Draw

As a followup to a piece I wrote early last week regarding faceoff men who generate shots in the offensive zone, it occured to me that the flip side of that coin is just as interesting. On the opposite side of the dot, who are the faceoff men who best prevent shots in their own end? Even in losing a faceoff, there's a big difference between a clean draw back to the point and a puck that's tied up in the middle of a scrum. So who do you want out there protecting a late lead with a faceoff coming up in your own zone?

The screen is for a minimum of 100 defensive-zone faceoffs during the 2005-6 NHL Regular Season, where the opposing team took a shot within 5 seconds of the draw.

Top Lock-Down Specialists (fewest shots)
Mark SMITH, SJS 3.47%
Patrik STEFAN, ATL 3.56%
Matt STAJAN, TOR 4.27%
Niko KAPANEN, DAL 4.33%
Alyn MCCAULEY, SJS 4.60%
Rico FATA, PIT 5.36%
Shane ENDICOTT, PIT 5.41%
Vernon FIDDLER, NSH 5.67%
Jamal MAYERS, STL 5.73%
Bobby HOLIK, ATL 5.77%
Kris DRAPER, DET 5.93%
Todd MARCHANT, ANA 5.93%
Mike SILLINGER, NSH 5.98%
Patrice BERGERON, BOS 6.00%
Shawn BATES, NYI 6.05%


Top Coach-Killers (most shots)
Michael NYLANDER, NYR 19.49%
Sidney CROSBY, PIT 17.21%
Eric STAAL, CAR 15.56%
Mike RIBEIRO, MTL 15.26%
Ryan MALONE, PIT 14.60%
Brooks LAICH, WSH 14.58%
Daniel BRIERE, BUF 14.48%
Ryan GETZLAF, ANA 14.00%
Olli JOKINEN, FLA 13.93%
Miroslav SATAN, NIY 13.73%
Saku KOIVU, MTL 13.66%
Kevyn ADAMS, CAR 13.53%
Stephen WEISS, FLA 13.24%
Kyle WELLWOOD, TOR 13.21%
Jarome IGINLA, CGY 12.59%

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