Lines, pairs and power-play units

Defence Pair CF% Leaders (5v5)

2026-275-on-5Through 3 team games

Defence pairs stay together longer than forward lines, so their shot share settles faster and says more. Each row is an exact pair on the ice together at 5-on-5, whoever the forwards were.

The xGF% column shows whether the pair also wins on shot quality, which is where shutdown pairs that concede only outside shots earn their keep.

Leader in 2026-27: Pesce – Hughes (NJD), 85.7% CF%.

Season2026-27 2025-26 2024-25 2023-24

Early sample: teams have played at most 3 games in 2026-27. Expect big swings.

Defence Pair CF% Leaders (5v5), 2026-27, 5-on-5
#	Pair	Team
1	Pesce – HughesNJD	NJD	85.7%	14	102.1	17.0	80.1%
2	Ekholm – BouchardEDM	EDM	81.4%	26	81.2	18.6	78.6%
3	Letang – van RiemsdykPIT	PIT	75.0%	14	79.0	26.3	86.0%
4	Girard – KorczakPIT	PIT	65.4%	15	70.3	37.2	89.3%
5	Hamilton – SiegenthalerNJD	NJD	65.0%	15	105.8	56.9	76.4%
6	Spurgeon – HughesMIN	MIN	63.3%	13	85.9	49.7	67.3%
7	Peeke – SimashevUTA	UTA	61.9%	13	62.0	38.1	70.2%
8	Jones – MikkolaFLA	FLA	60.0%	29	49.1	32.7	68.3%
9	Weegar – SergachevUTA	UTA	60.0%	16	78.1	52.1	77.1%
10	Hanifin – LauzonVGK	VGK	59.4%	29	77.4	52.9	57.3%
11	Schmidt – MarinoUTA	UTA	59.1%	14	55.1	38.1	64.4%
12	Samuelsson – DahlinBUF	BUF	59.1%	13	59.2	41.0	45.4%
13	Middleton – ParekhCGY	CGY	57.7%	13	70.7	51.8	51.7%
14	McNabb – TheodoreVGK	VGK	57.6%	30	68.9	50.6	64.2%
15	Montour – EvansSEA	SEA	57.6%	16	70.7	52.1	74.5%
16	Schenn – PetterssonVAN	VAN	57.1%	19	51.0	38.2	59.8%
17	Slavin – ChatfieldCAR	CAR	56.8%	26	57.3	43.5	50.5%
18	Clifton – ZadorovBOS	BOS	55.9%	35	56.8	44.7	55.5%
19	Seider – JohanssonDET	DET	55.6%	13	47.6	38.0	57.4%
20	Andersson – WotherspoonVGK	VGK	55.4%	30	62.3	50.3	51.8%
21	Lindholm – BorgenBOS	BOS	53.7%	31	69.1	59.5	54.9%
22	Ekman-Larsson – StecherTOR	TOR	53.1%	20	50.3	44.4	63.1%
23	Faulk – JohanssonDET	DET	52.6%	15	39.9	35.9	36.6%
24	Gavrikov – FoxNYR	NYR	52.3%	36	56.4	51.5	51.3%
25	Pettersson – DurziNYR	NYR	52.1%	42	52.4	48.2	49.4%
26	Ceci – AndersonLAK	LAK	52.0%	12	63.8	58.9	48.6%
27	Rielly – RaddyshTOR	TOR	51.0%	25	60.9	58.5	51.1%
28	Bahl – NemecCGY	CGY	50.0%	14	58.7	58.7	45.4%
29	Samberg – PionkWPG	WPG	50.0%	14	69.6	69.6	42.8%
30	Dillon – ChisholmNJD	NJD	50.0%	13	52.0	52.0	56.5%
31	Hague – WilsbyNSH	NSH	50.0%	12	48.6	48.6	24.5%
32	Gostisbehere – Alexis LegaultCAR	CAR	48.4%	20	44.7	47.6	22.9%
33	Murphy – SheaEDM	EDM	47.8%	19	35.7	38.9	58.7%
34	Nurse – KesselringSJS	SJS	47.6%	12	48.8	53.7	45.7%
35	Werenski – MateychukCBJ	CBJ	45.8%	15	43.2	51.1	59.0%
36	Carrier – HutsonMTL	MTL	45.8%	14	46.6	55.1	29.9%
37	Seeler – BenoitPHI	PHI	45.7%	27	36.2	43.0	29.6%
38	Aspirot – LohreiBOS	BOS	45.6%	31	50.5	60.3	53.5%
39	Larsson – DunnSEA	SEA	45.2%	14	60.1	72.9	61.2%
40	Mintyukov – MitchellANA	ANA	44.8%	15	51.2	63.0	47.1%
41	Tanev – McCabeTOR	TOR	42.1%	21	44.8	61.6	51.1%
42	Walker – MillerCAR	CAR	41.7%	25	35.7	49.9	20.5%
43	Cole – RinzelCHI	CHI	41.7%	19	47.3	66.3	30.7%
44	Trouba – AllanSJS	SJS	40.9%	12	44.6	64.5	32.8%
45	Kaiser – LevshunovCHI	CHI	40.4%	26	52.2	77.2	31.8%
46	Matheson – DobsonMTL	MTL	40.0%	13	45.3	68.0	47.4%
47	Hronek – BuiumVAN	VAN	39.1%	25	44.1	68.5	40.6%
48	Ristolainen – SanheimPHI	PHI	35.5%	31	52.7	95.6	19.6%
49	Schneider – SmitsNYR	NYR	33.3%	33	32.7	65.4	38.2%
50	LaCombe – LuneauANA	ANA	33.3%	20	36.2	72.3	55.2%
51	Orlov – CagnoniSJS	SJS	30.4%	14	30.8	70.4	12.2%
52	York – DrysdalePHI	PHI	25.9%	27	32.8	94.0	22.6%
53	Oleksiak – WillanderVAN	VAN	22.2%	26	23.5	82.1	19.9%
54	Byram – VlasicCHI	CHI	18.8%	24	22.1	95.6	9.2%

Minimum sample: 12 min (it scales with games played). 54 below the minimum are hidden.

How to read it

Shot-attempt share with exactly these two defencemen on the ice at 5-on-5.

How reliable is it?

Pairs often log 600+ minutes together, enough for CF% to be meaningful; xGF% needs more.

How pairs are detected →

All NHL leaderboards →

D-pair CF% leaderboard

How to read it

How reliable is it?

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