By now, you know that Ken Hitchcock is one to preach safety first. His system keeps the third forward high in the offensive zone to protect against odd-man rushes, and you’ll frequently see all five defenders collapsing towards the net at the other end instead of keeping someone ready to transition off a turnover. Simply put, he believes in a comprehensive defensive system that allows the Stars to strangle chances, and then capitalize on the other team’s mistakes.
So far this season, his system has, in terms of outshooting opponents, worked quite well:
Shot share rates
Bos, Car, Dal dominate the puck most.