All these decades later, getting in front of pucks has become a heightened priority, a refined technique and somewhat of an art form around the league, in part because of rule changes implemented when the game came out of its lockout mothballs in the summer of 2005.
To begin the 2005-06 NHL season, each offensive zone was expanded by 4 feet (to 64), allowing defensemen, especially on the power play, more space to handle the puck and more time to fire shots. More operating room for the point men has forced penalty-killing forwards to engage far more frequently in shot-blocking.
Likewise, the league's vigilant attempt to eliminate all forms of obstruction has led to a more open, free-flowing game, and increased offensive opportunities. With everyone shooting more, and with hook, hold, and clutch tactics mitigated, coaches leaguewide are demanding that forwards and defensemen use their bodies to shut down shooting lanes and, when necessary, take one for the team. And that's led to a rash of injuries.
"Every coach is different, but they all appreciate a blocked shot," said defenseman Brad Stuart, who jockeys with fellow blue liner Zdeno Chara for the top of the shot-blocking chart in Boston. "Some have ways they want you to do it. Some don't care, as long as it gets done. My approach: Just get in front of it."
"You have to have your mind set before the game," added Chara. "You have to think, 'Hey, whatever it is, whatever the guy shoots or decides to do with the puck, I have to go and sacrifice my body for the team.' "
That's the kind of attitude Bruins coach Dave Lewis is intent on instilling in a team that he felt was lacking badly in shot-blocking skill at the start of the season. In the Lewis handbook, a shot blocked is as valuable as a goal scored, a mantra he repeats endlessly in the dressing room, and nearly as often during his sessions with the media.
Whenever his charges are in defensive mode, Lewis wants their Black-Gold-and-Bruised bodies in shooting lanes, their sticks in passing lanes, their heads and core energy focused on doing whatever is necessary to block that chunk of rubber.
