Idiot’s guide to Forechecking systems

If I have learned anything from interacting with hockey fans over the years it is that they are looking for deeper discussions about the sport’s x’s and o’s. Instead they are left with the media throwing around vague terms like “they’re a puck possession team,” a “north/south team,” or a “run and gun team” to describe the differences between coaching philosophies, but rarely do they explain what any of it really means.

That’s why today’s post is a chalk talk lesson in hockey systems, specifically forechecking.

There are five forechecking strategies that coaches will generally employ.

1-2-2 (Trap)

The first common forechecking strategy is the 1-2-2 system (or trap). The 1-2-2 consists of one forechecker down low, two forecheckers near center ice, and two defensemen back along the blueline. The basic idea of the 1-2-2 is to funnel the offensive team to the outside and away from center ice.

As the offensive team starts to move up the ice, the trapping skaters will cut off passing lanes by staying in the neutral zone in a box+1 formation (see above). The defensive wingers, who are usually near center ice, can move in to challenge the puck carrier along the boards and try to cause a turnover.

If the puck carrier elects to skate through center ice anyway, this four man box collapses around the puck carrier eliminating his space to maneuver. A turnover is usually what ensues.

The Devils have utilized variations of this system for the better part of two decades. Thanks to their success many teams including the Panthers, Hurricanes, Wild, and Coyotes (to name few) have adopted this system in recent seasons.

Post lockout “defense first” teams have used more of a hybrid trap, meaning that they will forecheck aggressively in spurts and sit back and clog up the neutral zone at other times. Some teams will trap late in the period, others will trap only when they have the lead, while some teams will trap solely based on where the puck is located in the end zone.

1-4 (Trap)

An ultra-conservative version of the trap is the 1-4 forecheck, which has been a staple of the Boston Bruins, as seen above. The 1-4 consists of one forechecker in deep and four skaters lined up along the blueline forming a four man wall to prevent the opposing offense from advancing into the neutral zone. Essentially you have four skaters playing defense.

The 1-4 is designed to prevent rushes and breakaways towards your goaltender, which is why guys like Thomas, Bryzgalov and Rinne will sometimes put up ridiculous stats in certain games. They’ll rarely face odd-man transition rushes.

It should be noted that teams that will this formation will not do so for an entire game. It is a formation that is used in spurts.

2-3 (Left Wing Lock)

The Left Wing Lock looks like a basic 2-3 formation where once puck possession changes in the offensive zone, the center and right winger forecheck the puck carrier aggressively and the left winger heads to the half-boards to give the low forwards a high option should they recover the puck.

If the forecheckers do not retrieve the puck, the left winger can move back in line (or top of the circles) with the two defensemen to form a three man wall (as seen above). Like other schemes, this is designed to force the puck to the boards and stand up the attack at the blueline.

What’s great about this system is that there is always an offensive player used as a defensive safety valve. This system allows your best skaters to be aggressive, but whenever there is a possibility of a transition from offense to defense, immediately you have a third guy high to eliminate odd-man rushes in your goalie’s direction.

The Red Wings didn’t invent this style, but they were known to popularize it during the 1990’s.

2-1-2 (North/South)

A more aggressive forecheck, the 2-1-2, should be known to all, since this has been John Tortorella’s bread and butter for most of his career. The aim is to create turnovers down low by pressuring opposing defenses.

In the 2-1-2 system once the opponent takes the puck behind his net, a forechecking winger moves from the right to flush him out. The other winger then moves from the opposite side and forces the enemy skater to get rid of the puck. The mid-level forechecker, generally the center, moves into the high slot, with tertiary support from the defensemen.

In this system the defensemen have to pinch and move up into the zone to confront the puck carrier. They will often be positioned atop the circles as opposed to back at the blueline. This helps to keep the puck in the zone when opposing players throw the puck hard around the boards.

Since everyone is hunting for the puck in this system, it is crucial that all of your players can back-check, which is probably why guys like Mara, McCabe, etc. are all no longer on the roster.

1-3-1 (Trap or Aggressive)

Finally there is the new 1-3-1 forecheck, which has been Guy Boucher’s concoction down in Tampa Bay. The 1-3-1 is interesting because it can be both an aggressive forecheck or a traping scheme depending on where the puck is located.

Generally in the 1-3-1 schematic the first skater into the zone steers the puck toward the outside, the left-side defenseman skates along the left wall with two forwards to his right and the right-side defenseman trails the play (as seen above).

This system generally causes the opposing team to **** up their defensive assignments since you have four skaters down low attacking the puck in waves.

The main difference between this tactic and others is the number of forecheckers. If the puck is in deep with two opposing skaters cycling, most teams are sending in 1 or 2 forecheckers, Boucher sends three. If there are three skaters cycling in their own zone, Boucher sends 4 forecheckers. His goal is to outnumber the other team on the puck at all times.

For more of an in-depth look at the 1-3-1 as a neutral zone trap, please see my post here.

Now obviously forechecking is just one aspect of a hockey system, but I think this is plenty for you to digest for one day. For more on hockey systems, please click here.