Jake Gardiner and the other Toronto Maple Leafs defencemen like to think they can hold their own in the faceoff circle.
“Sometimes in practice we’ll just joke around and go against the centremen and tell them we can beat them,” Gardiner said.
Washington Capitals defenceman John Carlson wishes he had that luxury. Angry after he lost a faceoff, he blamed teammate Jay Beagle.
“I used to practice all the time, but the centres don’t let me practice anymore,” Carlson said. “I was 1 for 1 in my career and now I ruined it.”
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Such is life for NHL defencemen these days, thrown into the faceoff circle to do something they never figured was in their job description.