Who makes up the NHL's best D-pairing?

Jan Rutta #44 and Victor Hedman #77 make up one of the NHL's best defense pairings. (Photo by Scott Audette /NHLI via Getty Images)Even with offense becoming increasingly important in today's NHL, very few teams in recent years have had any sort of postseason success without an elite defensive pairing.

Whether it's a shutdown duo or a tandem that can drive offensive production — or both — these top pairings are extremely valuable both over a long regular season and in the playoffs when they're tasked with handling a specific matchup over the course of a seven-game series.

Simply put, if you don't have two defenders you can throw over the boards and trust in a crucial situation, you don't…