What do NHL's best forecheckers look like? Just watch Panthers and Hurricanes

New York Times

22-05-2025

When Paul Maurice took over as head coach of the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2022, he was already thinking about the playoffs. He sought to make a subtle but important change to the Panthers' rush-heavy offense that helped Florida lead the NHL in goals and win the Presidents' Trophy the previous season.
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'The Panthers were built on stretching and the speed game,' Maurice said during Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season. 'It can be really good except for the most part, the rush game starts to disappear in the playoffs. So you need another piece.'
That other piece isn't as glamorous but has become the foundation of who the Panthers are. According to SportLogic, no team in the NHL dumped the puck in more frequently than the Panthers this season. And no team had a higher dump-in retrieval rate than the Panthers. Forechecking has become Florida's superpower. And you could say the same about the Carolina Hurricanes, the Panthers' opponent in the Eastern Conference final.
'They play a simple game,' Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Carolina. 'There's no secret plays or anything like that. They're a very straightforward hockey team. They have great sticks. It's man-on-man. They're in your face. There's not a lot of space out there. It's kind of a similar style to how we play. I think you're going to see two similar styles going at it. They're known for trying to suffocate you, not turning pucks over in the neutral zone and playing a brand of hockey that everyone understands how to play.'
As the NHL has become more about speed and skill, controlled zone entries and puck possession are at a premium. But Maurice recognized early on that the playoffs are a different game. Physicality and intensity ramp up, and there's not as much time and space to create plays off the rush. The teams and players who thrive in that environment are willing to play the game another way.
Of the eight teams that advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs, six were above average in terms of generating chances off the cycle and forecheck, according to AllThreeZones. The Panthers and Hurricanes, the two Eastern Conference finalists, were both among the top three teams in pressures per 60 minutes and puck retrievals per 60 minutes.
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This isn't just about a coach emphasizing a different playing style, either. Forechecking at the elite level required in the postseason is a skill that isn't easy to find. We spent the latter part of the NHL season asking various defensemen and coaches about what makes a good forechecker and who stands out in that department. The Panthers and Hurricanes came up a lot.
'I think it's one of those talents that the average fan doesn't see or recognize,' said Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson. 'But when you know the game at a higher level and watch a lot of hockey, you can pick that stuff up and really see who is effective in those situations. It's a unique skill.'
The checking part is often the most noticeable element of forechecking. Capitals forward Tom Wilson jumps to mind as a relentless bruiser who is miserable to play against. And the Panthers lead the playoffs with more than 45 hits per 60 minutes during this postseason. But when asking around the league, a willingness to hit is only a small part of the equation. In some cases, that's exactly what the defenseman wants.
'As a D-man, I want the forechecker to try to hit me because usually that means their stick is in the air,' Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. 'That gives you a chance to get the puck out of the way.'
Deception is the trait that comes up a lot when discussing the best forecheckers. As Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said, 'Really smart players are the scary ones.' At lower levels, the fastest, most aggressive and most physical players are typically the difference-makers on the forecheck. But in the NHL, there are also subtle skills like reading the play and having the hand-eye coordination to pick off passes that make a big difference. Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said a player needs physicality, hockey IQ and a good stick. Two of those three make an effective forechecker, all three make an elite forechecker.
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'If they're right on you they're probably going to stay right on you,' Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. 'But if there's a little separation, you don't know if they're going to continue and try to hit you or peel off and try to take away your pass. Speed, deceptiveness and the smarts to read the play. Sometimes it might not be the first forechecker that is what kills a breakout.'
The Hurricanes might be the best example of Slavin's last point. When asking defensemen the toughest forecheckers to play against, they rattled off some individuals but also routinely named the Hurricanes as a group.
'It doesn't surprise me that defensemen don't love playing against our team when it comes to the forecheck,' Slavin said with a smile.
Part of it is how relentless the forwards are when pressuring the puck. But the involvement of the defensemen blocking passing lanes is a factor, too. The Hurricanes are connected as a group in a way that makes them exhausting to play against.
'You don't just go aimlessly running in there,' Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. 'You have to have good reads. The teams that do forechecking best understand it's a five-man forecheck. It's not about one guy.'
According to AllThreeZones, no team in the NHL had more pressures per 60 minutes than the Hurricanes. They had 27.41 shots per 60 off the cycle and forecheck, according to AllThreeZones. That was three more shots per 60 than the next closest team.
'Carolina isn't going to finish every check but they're going to forecheck hard and pressure the puck,' Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton said. 'You try to go up the strong side and that F2 is already there on the wall and F3 is coming over. If you get it by F2, the next thing you know, the defenseman is pinching down the wall. You are one or two good plays from a two-on-one, but if they're on their game and anticipating where we're trying to go with it, it's just so hard to break out.'
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That showed up in Carolina's 4-1 series win over Washington in the second round. The Hurricanes had a 12:41 advantage in offensive zone time, according to SportLogic. They pressured the puck all over the ice and made life hell for the Capitals' defensemen.
But not every team is the Hurricanes. Individuals can make a difference in this area of the game. Forechecking is the ultimate effort skill in the ultimate effort sport. If you're relentless in your pursuit of the puck, shift after shift, it starts to wear on an opponent.
'Fitness is a big part of it,' said Rangers and Team USA coach Mike Sullivan. 'You have to be a dog on a bone on the puck and it takes effort.'
'If a guy does lose you, you can stay in the hunt and maybe catch him from behind if he thinks he's beat you,' Cassidy added. 'Those are the (Brad) Marchands of the world, those guys that stay on battles.'
The Panthers adding Marchand, one of the league's most tenacious forecheckers, was not only a natural fit. It made an already elite group even more of a headache to play against. Florida is led by arguably the best forechecker in the NHL in captain Aleksander Barkov. No player had more shots off the forecheck and cycle than Barkov this season, and he was among the league leaders in puck pressure and puck retrievals per 60, according to AllThreeZones. When your captain and best player is the one leading the way in that regard, it's easy to get buy-in from the rest of the team.
Rush offense will show up on the highlight reels throughout the regular season, but forechecking offense can make the biggest difference in May and June. Dumping the puck in is less risky than trying to make the extra play at the blue line. But you need to have players who skate well enough, have a physical edge and are able to win puck battles. Otherwise, dumping the puck in is just giving away possession. According to SportLogiq, the Panthers have the most goals within 10 seconds of a turnover during the playoffs. The Hurricanes have the most scoring chances within 10 seconds of a turnover. That's a direct result of the pressure they create on the forecheck.
Panthers vs Hurricanes…Florida leads the playoffs in goals scored via turnovers.Carolina leads in scoring chances off turnovers.Two aggressive teams who pressure opponents into mistakes as well as anyone. Will be an interesting series from that standpoint. pic.twitter.com/4vW4YyQwuU
— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) May 20, 2025
The forecheck starts before a team enters the zone, though. A team standing still and dumping the puck into the zone is not going to win the puck back often. Teams that are able to come through the neutral zone with speed and dump the puck to the right area of the ice have a chance to get an advantage. How a player dumps the puck is just as important as a willingness to dump it. Putting it in a place where the goalie can't easily get it and also to an area where a defenseman can't use the net to box out a forecheck is key to having a chance to create possession off a dump-in. The best forecheckers are also able to find an extra gear after they dump the puck in so they can either draw a penalty or at least prevent the defenseman from easily boxing him out of a play.
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'It's all angles, right?' said Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. 'Any team that comes with speed through the neutral zone and is not just dumping pucks in standing still on the blue line, it's hard. They're going to force you one way or the other. That initial forecheck might not always get the puck, but it's those second and third opportunities. Usually that's on the first guy to facilitate that without getting any real credit.'
The impact of an effective forecheck is felt beyond the offensive zone, too. The neutral zone is where so many games are won and lost in the playoffs. The aim of the forecheck is to prevent a breakout first. A lousy forecheck makes it easy for a team to transition to offense through the neutral zone. The teams that can slow the other team down in their own end have a better chance of creating chaos in the neutral zone and controlling the pace of play.
That's a big reason the Panthers and Hurricanes are the last two teams standing in the Eastern Conference. They pressure the puck and mitigate risk by dumping the puck in and working to get it back. That style of play is repeatable and wears on the opposition.
'I think Carolina and Florida are the two teams in the East, and I'm not being disrespectful to the other teams, who most consistently play to their identity on a regular basis,' Maurice said at the start of the series. 'When you come watch Carolina play and come watch us play, you have a pretty good idea of what it's going to look like.'
'We're built for playoffs and they are as well,' added Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.
Game 1 between the two teams provided plenty of evidence of that. The Panthers and Hurricanes combined for 97 hits in a game the Panthers won 5-2. And one of the keys to victory was Florida's ability to beat Carolina's forecheck. According to SportLogiq, the Panthers were able to exit their defensive zone with possession on 89 percent of their exit attempts. No team in these playoffs has been as successful at beating Carolina's forecheck in a single game.
'That's the game,' Brind'Amour said after the game. 'They're doing it, too. They're trying to forecheck, too. They probably put more pucks in than we did tonight. They put more stress on us than we did on them. That's how they play. That's why they're the best and we're trying to beat it.'
(Photo of Niko Mikkola, Taylor Hall and Seth Jones: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)