Hockey position played by two players stationed between the
forwards and the
goaltender.
Their primary duty is to play
defense when the
puck is in their
zone, preventing
opposing forwards from getting too close to their goaltender. On
offense, they usually take
positions along the
blue line approximately 25 feet from the boards on either side, called the
points,
and either take long shots from those positions or pass to their forwards closer in.
In a standard straight-up defensive scheme, the left defenseman guards the opposing right wing,
and the right defenseman guards the opposing left wing. Preferably, a left-D will shoot
right-handed and a right-D will shoot left-handed, in order to provide the best chance at
blocking a shot.