Betting research

NHL Defense vs Position 2017-18

Shots on goal, goals and points each NHL team allows per game to opposing centres, wingers and defencemen: hockey's defense-vs-position table for player props and DFS, with how much of it repeats.

New York Islanders leads NHL teams with 11.33 shots allowed to defencemen per game in 2017-18, 0.16 more than Toronto Maple Leafs.

Updated Oct 20, 6:06 PM ET after WSH 4, VGK 3 (Jun 7)

Most and fewest shots allowed to defencemen per game, 2017-18

Does defense vs position repeat?

Partly. Odd games against even games, 2017-18 to 2025-26: shots allowed to centres r = 0.51, wingers 0.44, defencemen 0.65; points allowed 0.39, 0.43 and 0.47. Season to season: 0.34, 0.28 and 0.55 for shots.

Most of that is the team's total shots and goals allowed. The share that goes to defencemen repeats less (0.46 within a season).

Against the market

We tested defense vs position on 3,231 shots-on-goal props from 196 games in 2025-26 (closing lines, several US books). The opponent's shots allowed to the player's position, before the game, correlated 0.03 with the result against the line. Against the softest matchups overs hit 51.0% with the market at 50.7% (478 props); against the toughest, 46.8% against 50.2% (530). That is within noise of the prices, and smaller than the vig.

The books price the matchup already. Use these tables for context and DFS, not as a bet on their own. Our shots model against the books, live: model vs market.

By position, 2017-18

NHL Defense vs Position 2017-18: shots, points and goals allowed to centres, wingers and defencemen
Team	GP	Shots on goal allowed / GP			Points allowed / GP			Goals allowed / GP
Team	GP	C	W	D	C	W	D	C	W	D
New York Islanders	82	11.09	13.17	11.33	3.45	3.57	2.68	1.38	1.54	0.66
Toronto Maple Leafs	82	10.60	12.09	11.17	2.71	3.00	1.84	1.07	1.27	0.46
Florida Panthers	82	10.60	13.22	10.78	2.94	3.15	1.85	1.30	1.24	0.41
Colorado Avalanche	82	9.73	12.83	10.73	2.72	2.83	2.30	1.04	1.27	0.57
New York Rangers	82	11.57	13.37	10.40	3.05	3.28	2.22	1.24	1.44	0.52
Minnesota Wild	82	9.62	11.33	10.38	2.46	2.96	2.12	1.01	1.27	0.51
Arizona Coyotes	82	9.45	12.60	10.17	3.04	3.05	2.00	1.15	1.52	0.39
Anaheim Ducks	82	10.50	12.73	9.89	2.37	3.01	1.51	0.95	1.22	0.38
Chicago Blackhawks	82	10.44	12.57	9.88	2.76	3.29	2.10	1.21	1.49	0.40
Winnipeg Jets	82	9.87	12.12	9.88	2.35	2.68	1.91	1.01	1.09	0.54
Ottawa Senators	82	11.13	12.15	9.79	3.22	3.80	2.35	1.39	1.56	0.51
Nashville Predators	82	10.24	12.48	9.71	2.44	2.71	1.79	0.93	1.11	0.45
Tampa Bay Lightning	82	9.89	13.15	9.68	2.56	3.21	2.01	1.04	1.37	0.45
New Jersey Devils	82	10.11	12.20	9.60	2.72	3.07	2.06	1.04	1.43	0.46
Detroit Red Wings	82	9.68	12.63	9.55	2.65	3.68	2.07	1.02	1.66	0.41
Montreal Canadiens	82	10.63	12.13	9.54	3.01	3.43	1.98	1.21	1.65	0.29
Buffalo Sabres	82	10.61	12.80	9.28	3.27	3.71	2.21	1.34	1.54	0.51
Edmonton Oilers	82	10.63	12.23	9.24	3.16	3.21	2.09	1.35	1.38	0.46
Pittsburgh Penguins	82	9.55	12.39	9.20	2.73	3.44	2.16	1.16	1.33	0.54
Dallas Stars	82	9.04	11.63	9.17	2.76	2.67	1.84	0.98	1.21	0.52
Vegas Golden Knights	82	9.94	11.68	9.10	2.62	2.96	1.88	1.07	1.18	0.49
Boston Bruins	82	9.02	11.13	9.09	2.33	2.70	1.71	0.95	1.28	0.34
Calgary Flames	82	10.34	11.76	9.05	2.74	2.96	1.95	1.11	1.27	0.59
Vancouver Canucks	82	10.35	12.84	9.01	2.93	3.43	2.12	1.21	1.41	0.54
Los Angeles Kings	82	9.55	12.40	8.99	2.17	2.73	1.57	0.90	1.20	0.37
Columbus Blue Jackets	82	9.87	12.51	8.93	2.55	3.06	1.84	0.98	1.35	0.43
Carolina Hurricanes	82	8.61	11.62	8.62	2.99	3.30	1.98	1.10	1.44	0.55
Washington Capitals	82	10.13	13.11	8.62	2.84	3.15	1.72	1.13	1.51	0.26
San Jose Sharks	82	9.68	12.16	8.50	2.49	3.21	1.74	1.12	1.26	0.38
Philadelphia Flyers	82	9.12	12.60	8.13	2.85	2.98	1.96	1.21	1.32	0.35
St. Louis Blues	82	9.65	12.11	7.98	2.70	2.91	1.66	1.13	1.21	0.37

Regular season, from NHL boxscores. Wingers are left and right wings together.

Last 10 games

Ten games is a small window: about a third of the gap between teams here is noise that the season line averages out.

NHL Defense vs Position, last 10 games
Team	GP	Shots on goal allowed / GP			Points allowed / GP			Goals allowed / GP
Team	GP	C	W	D	C	W	D	C	W	D
New York Rangers	10	11.30	14.50	11.60	3.30	4.00	2.40	1.10	1.90	0.70
Colorado Avalanche	10	9.30	14.70	11.30	2.90	2.50	2.00	1.20	1.10	0.50
New York Islanders	10	11.50	12.40	10.80	3.10	3.60	2.90	1.30	1.50	0.60
Chicago Blackhawks	10	12.40	12.70	10.50	3.50	3.00	2.90	1.80	1.00	0.90
Carolina Hurricanes	10	9.70	10.70	10.40	3.30	3.20	2.20	0.60	1.50	1.00
Tampa Bay Lightning	10	10.40	12.20	10.40	2.80	4.10	2.20	1.00	1.90	0.50
Arizona Coyotes	10	9.30	14.20	10.00	3.10	2.40	1.70	1.10	1.40	0.10
Florida Panthers	10	11.10	13.50	9.90	2.70	2.50	1.30	1.00	1.10	0.30
Toronto Maple Leafs	10	10.60	11.40	9.90	2.40	3.20	2.00	0.90	1.20	0.70
Detroit Red Wings	10	9.10	12.40	9.80	2.20	3.80	2.30	0.90	1.90	0.30
Pittsburgh Penguins	10	8.10	15.50	9.50	2.90	3.30	2.60	1.00	1.40	0.80
Dallas Stars	10	10.30	11.10	9.40	2.90	3.60	2.60	0.70	1.70	0.80
Vegas Golden Knights	10	9.40	12.10	9.40	2.70	3.20	1.70	0.90	1.30	0.60
Edmonton Oilers	10	10.30	12.70	9.30	3.20	3.20	2.20	1.30	1.20	0.70
Montreal Canadiens	10	11.50	11.80	9.20	3.90	3.00	2.30	1.60	1.50	0.30
Minnesota Wild	10	8.70	10.70	9.00	1.90	2.50	2.30	0.90	1.30	0.30
Anaheim Ducks	10	10.60	9.90	8.90	2.30	1.70	1.30	1.10	0.50	0.50
Columbus Blue Jackets	10	10.20	12.90	8.90	3.00	3.70	1.40	0.80	2.10	0.20
Los Angeles Kings	10	8.30	10.10	8.90	2.10	2.30	1.70	0.80	1.00	0.40
Ottawa Senators	10	9.80	12.10	8.90	4.20	4.20	2.60	1.50	2.20	0.30
Winnipeg Jets	10	8.80	13.70	8.90	2.20	2.60	2.70	0.70	1.40	0.80
Calgary Flames	10	7.00	11.90	8.80	3.20	3.70	2.20	1.50	1.10	0.90
New Jersey Devils	10	9.70	12.60	8.80	2.70	2.80	2.40	0.90	1.60	0.40
Vancouver Canucks	10	9.30	12.50	8.80	2.80	2.50	1.80	1.60	0.80	0.20
Nashville Predators	10	12.60	11.90	8.70	3.50	3.50	1.80	1.30	1.60	0.30
Philadelphia Flyers	10	9.00	11.70	8.60	2.90	3.30	1.90	1.70	1.10	0.20
San Jose Sharks	10	8.20	12.80	8.60	1.90	3.50	2.10	0.90	1.60	0.50
Boston Bruins	10	12.40	9.80	8.50	2.50	2.90	1.80	1.00	1.30	0.40
Buffalo Sabres	10	11.20	12.30	7.90	4.30	4.90	2.20	2.20	1.70	0.50
St. Louis Blues	10	7.20	12.70	7.90	2.90	2.80	1.60	0.70	1.30	0.90
Washington Capitals	10	11.30	13.30	6.60	2.50	2.80	1.80	1.10	1.20	0.20

What defense vs position measures

Shots on goal, goals and points each team allows to opposing centres, wingers and defencemen, per game. Wingers are left and right wings together. It is the hockey version of football's defense-vs-position tables used for player props and DFS.

Shots allowed by position repeat moderately within a season (odd vs even games: centres 0.51, wingers 0.44, defencemen 0.65), and points allowed less (0.43). Most of it is the team's total shots and goals allowed, re-sorted.

We tested it on 3,231 shots-on-goal props from 196 games in 2025-26. Opponents who allow the most shots to a position barely changed results against the closing line: correlation 0.03. The books already price the matchup, so treat this as context, not an edge.

Frequently asked questions

Which NHL team allows the most shots to defencemen in 2017-18?

New York Islanders allows 11.33 shots on goal per game to opposing defencemen through Jun 7.

Does defense vs position beat NHL shot props?

Not in our test: across 3,231 2025-26 shots-on-goal props, the opponent's shots allowed to the player's position correlated 0.03 with results against the closing line. Against the toughest third of matchups, overs hit 46.8% (market 50.2%).