The vibes were impeccable in New Jersey on Tuesday night. The top pair of Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler added to their impressive season with standout performances against Chicago.
In the 17 five-on-five minutes, Siegenthaler-Hamilton were on the ice, shot attempts were 25-8 in the Devils’ favor. New Jersey controlled about 90 percent of the expected goals share and outscored their opponent 1-0. Some of that time was head-to-head against the Blackhawks’ best, Patrick Kane. With the winger deployed versus that defense pair, Chicago only mustered one shot attempt while conceding about 14 back.
Granted it was against a weaker Blackhawks squad, but it was a small sampling of what New Jersey has experienced from their top pair this season — a performance that puts them among the best defense pairs in the league.
The Siegenthaler-Hamilton pairing combines two key additions to New Jersey. Hamilton was the Devils’ big-ticket signing two summers ago, and his first season didn’t quite go according to plan. Injuries weighed down the defender, and the team never really got to see him at his best in 2021-22. But this year’s been a completely different story. Hamilton’s showing why he’s earned a reputation as a high-caliber offensive defender around the league with his ability to direct play. That puck possession game can be the best defense, too — the more the puck is on his stick, the fewer opportunities opponents have to create chances against.
And that’s paired perfectly with a more defensively sound back in Siegenthaler. The lefty isn’t particularly flashy, but it’s because his plays aren’t reactionary. Instead, he provides stability because he works to prevent offense from ever happening. That’s what the modern shutdown defenseman should strive to do. Siegenthaler does well to limit entries against and stop opponents from creating offense off the rush, and overall protects the middle of the ice to help insulate the Devils’ goalies. And, he can keep up with Hamilton. Playing with a more offensive partner, instead of being an anchor on his partner’s side, has helped unlock that aspect of his game a bit more this season. That’s the risk of matching up the typical offensive and defensive matchup. What should be complementary skill sets aren’t always a match and can end up holding a player back, especially if one runs too one-dimensional in either direction.
In Siegenthaler and Hamilton’s case, it’s an ideal match that’s become a key part of the Devils’ early season success. Prior to last night’s game against the Blackhawks, the duo had spent 350 five-on-five minutes together and rocked a 65.2 percent expected goals rate that rates in the top 10 among all pairs with at least 50 minutes together. That’s thanks to their efforts on both ends of the ice — New Jersey generates a ton of shots and quality looks while it’s on the ice, which both contribute to, and it doesn’t allow much from the net-front area.
Via HockeyViz
And this duo has the results to match, since the Devils are outscoring opponents 27-11 in their minutes.
The only knock against Siegenathler and Hamilton, really, is that they don’t go up against top competition. That’s a job reserved for John Marino and Ryan Graves. It’s not something to hold against the pairing — the coaches decide their usage, after all, and Siegenthaler in particular showed he can play shutdown minutes last year when tasked with it. It doesn’t mean the two never face top players, either. Just look at their game against the Maple Leafs in late November; Hamilton saw about seven minutes against Auston Matthews, and the Devils doubled Toronto’s shot generation (14-7) in that time. It’s just not the usual assignment, because New Jersey has a pair who can absorb those minutes which frees up the top pair for a role that best benefits the team.
To analyze the best defensive pair in the league, usage isn’t the end-all, be-all. But performance relative to workload is a part of it.
That’s where pairs like Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox in New York gain an edge, as well as Devon Toews and Cale Makar in Colorado.
The Lindgren-Fox pairing takes on top competition in New York and still has strong numbers despite its workload. Lindgren, the more defensive of the two, has evolved over the years playing alongside Fox. He’s become a more versatile and dimensional partner. And Fox is one of the best all-around defensemen in the league. His poise, puck-moving ability and vision are all leading to his bid for the Norris Trophy this spring. Together, in about 339 minutes of five-on-five play, they’ve earned a 58.9 percent expected goals rate. The results slightly fall below what’s expected based on their efforts in the offensive zone and shot suppression in their own end; the Rangers have only outscored their opponents 16-14 in Lindgren and Fox’s minutes together.
Makar and Toews make for one of the best pairs in the league. They’re projected to be the most valuable pair in the league, considering how highly each individual is rated let alone the efforts they have together. Makar’s not just one of the best defensemen in the league, but one of the best players. The rover is elite offensively and doesn’t allow much back in his minutes. Toews, like Lindgren and Siegenthaler, is the more defensive of the two. His skating and stick work are essential to his defending, and he brings offensive upside to the fold as well. While their workload is tough, considering the players they’ve matched up against so far, the Avalanche still tilt the ice in their minutes — to a tune of 57.5 percent of the expected goals share. With a slightly higher on-ice shooting percentage, maybe their results will catch up. The advantage Makar and Toews have over, say Fox and Lindgren, is the quality of the forwards they play with to help drive play. The same is true for Hamilton and Siegenthaler, considering how dangerous the top six in New Jersey has become who they often take the ice with.
A few other pairs stand out thanks to their strong results, and like these duos, their longevity together this season.
There’s Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez in Vegas, who’ve earned a 60.5 percent expected goals rate in 347 five-on-five minutes together. They split up going up against top competition with a very skillful second pairing in Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb, who also have some impressive results so far. The situation’s similar for the Hurricanes. The top pair of Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns deserves praise. But so does the combination after them on the depth chart; Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce have been great in their minutes as well.
Then there are pairings to watch that should expect to be stronger contenders in this conversation later in the year. Charlie McAvoy hasn’t missed a beat after missing the start of the season and has picked up his chemistry with Hampus Lindholm right back up in Boston. The two only have about 70 minutes together so far, though.
Another duo who could break through as a top pair in this league — if not fully this season, maybe next — is Mattias Samuelsson and Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo. Samuelsson takes on some of the toughest competition in the league, and Dahlin’s starting to look more consistently like the legitimate No. 1 he was projected to become. The results are outweighing the inputs below the surface right now, but it won’t be surprising to see these two become the next iteration of Siegenthaler and Hamilton, Lindgren and Fox, or Toews and Makar in the next year, either.
There isn’t one perfect method for defining the best defense pair in the league. There are numerous considerations that are valued differently and so many talented duos that make this such an interesting conversation. But pairs like Toews-Makar, Lindgren-Fox and even Lindholm-McAvoy are expected to be here — their play over the last few seasons has merited that. Siegenthaler and Hamilton, after a fantastic start on both ends of the ice, have elevated themselves right into this conversation as one of the best duos in the league.
Data collected prior to Tuesday night’s matchups via Evolving-Hockey, HockeyViz, HockeyStatCards, AllThreeZones and NaturalStatTrick. This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a Primer on these numbers.
(Photo of Dougie Hamilton celebrating with Jonas Siegenthaler and other teammates: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
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