A lot of NHL teams still do something that looks ugly on purpose: they win a defensive-zone faceoff and immediately flip the puck high into the air.
That instinct can seem wasteful at first glance. The play often turns into a loose-puck scramble in the neutral zone, and plenty of those moments end with the other team recovering possession.
A smaller share of them even bounce the wrong way and become goals against. But the point, as much as the result, is tied to how hockey actually works.
The sport is about more than simply holding the puck. It’s also about spacing and field position.
In a game this fast, with hundreds of changes of possession, having the puck without clean spacing can be a problem. And sometimes not having the puck, but keeping your structure intact, is the better hand to play.
The team that can push the puck farther from its own net is often the one benefiting from the randomness.
That’s part of why the league’s best-coached teams keep using the punt. After an offensive-zone faceoff loss, the most common response is a 2-1-2 Split forecheck.
That setup is especially dangerous when the team trying to exit has the puck but not the spacing or field position to make a clean play. In that situation, trying to skate it out can be a bad bet.
The example given from Vegas against Carolina shows the problem clearly. Vegas wins the defensive-zone draw, but the play quickly turns into a contest in the neutral zone as both Carolina wingers jump into the pile.
Hanifin is left trying to hold off Svechnikov, Andersson has only a split-second to handle the retrieval against the other Carolina winger, and Vegas forwards are trying to get up ice with their backs to the play. That’s a tough spot for any defenseman, and unless the player is someone like Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes, beating a forechecker 1-on-1 from there is a big ask.
If the puck is deep in the corner and the passing options aren’t in position, the risk usually outweighs the reward.
That’s why, over a big sample, prioritizing possession out of a defensive-zone faceoff win can lose out to the more conservative option against a 2-1-2 Split forecheck. The immediate punt doesn’t guarantee control, but its average outcome is a 50/50 battle closer to the red line - not possession, but better spacing and better field position.
Some of those plays break badly and create chances against. Others go the other way and create chances for.
On balance, though, the goal is to move the problem away from your net and buy time for the next read.
For teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, that tradeoff is part of the plan. Their frequent high flips and glass-and-outs are meant to wear down the forecheck and make opponents chase. Once those skaters realize they’re chasing without getting much back, they start to back off, and that opens the door for Carolina to make more plays underneath pressure.
An example from the final game of the 2025-26 playoffs.
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