Video room: Why Krug & Faulk have been one of the best D pairing in the NHL this season
According to hockey analyst Mike Kelly (analytics for NHL Network), Torey Krug and Justin Faulk have been the best defenseman pair in the NHL this season:
Most of their advanced metrics have been dominant, driving results on both sides of the ice with impactful numbers according to Natural Stattrick defense pairs’ stats, whether it’s GF%, xGF%, SCF%HDCF%, etc. They also haven't been sheltered, facing strong quality of competition according to Hockey Viz:
Given that it's not a usual pair deployment for most coaches because both Krug and Faulk are considered offensive minded defenseman, and because Faulk has never been an analytics darling, I think these results are pretty surprising for many people. I watched many St-Louis Blues games to find out why they have been so dominant together.
Let's watch some clips
For me, Krug and Faulk's impressive defensive results come from driving the play offensively. More precisely, their style of play meshes well with Blues’ system in three categories that link well together:
1- Weak side D activation on pressure breakout & neutral zone regroup
Krug and Faulk are not the most poised defenseman in terms of making a 5-foot slip pass to their center support on the breakout (example: Leafs' breakout strategy), but they found a constant breakout strategy that fits their style of play well. Getting the puck to the wall winger, then D2 sprints and activates the play on the weak side. With the middle winger pushing the pace out of the zone, it makes the opposing team Ds back off, so it gives St-Louis a lot of space to maneuver in transition:
Notice in these clips how Krug or Faulk are always activating on the weak side (and how much space there is because of the middle winger who split their Ds), giving many transition options and often creating odd-man rushes with four Blues players on zone entries. Given that both of them have great offensive instincts and strong forward skating abilities, it makes St-Louis' a dual-threat on the breakout, being able to execute this play equally well on both sides (left or right breakout):
Having four players on the rush also helps for retrieving pucks in the OZ after the initial play, helping St-Louis' setting up their strong OZP. At the end of the clip, you can see two sequences in NZ transition with similar patterns: Get the puck to the forward, then D2 jumps into the play to create odd-man rushes.
2- Heavy OZ forecheck with defenseman pinching
The Blues play an aggressive offensive zone forecheck with D pinching on the wall:
Given that Krug and Faulk are often joining the rush and are strong forward skaters, it gives them the opportunity to play to their strength. They can be aggressive on the wall when forechecking after activating the play on the breakout. They have less neutral zone rush defending to do, which is a positive because like hockey consultant and author Jack Han mentioned (you can follow his work if it’s not already done, it’s a must), it's not a strength of Faulk game:
3- OZP Active D
The Blues are one of my favorite teams to watch in the offensive zone. They have strong and talented forwards that can win pucks and skilled defenseman that activate to play some creative offensive zone hockey. The Blues activate their D in the offensive zone in many ways including these three plays:
D-Dive (with slide to back door):
High 3v2 D activation:
Back door sneaking:
Krug and Faulk are both talented offensive defenseman, so this type of OZP fits well with their strengths. Watch in these videos how active they are in the offensive zone (5 man unit) and how they run these three plays:
You can also see from Hockey Viz charts how they’ve both been able to activate and generate 5 on 5 shots from everywhere in the OZ:
Conclusion
Even if Krug and Faulk are not the best defensive zone or rush defender, they've been able to drive positive defensive metrics. They have a similar style of play with good offensive instincts, forward skating, and ability to activate everywhere on the ice, which allows them to be a dual-threat from anywhere on the ice and play as a 5 man unit with many rotations and switches of position. Blues' style of play connects well with this pairing: With their wide D activation on breakouts, they're able to either transition to their heavy OZFC and to install in the offensive zone, or to create on the odd-man rush and to retrieves pucks after that for continuous play in the offensive zone.