Hamilton Picking the Right Spots | FEATURE

Dougie Hamilton surveyed the scene in front of him. What he saw in the opening seconds of a game against Chicago Tuesday night was all five Blackhawks skaters on one side of the hashmarks and a completely empty sheet of ice on the weak side.
The Devils defenseman swooped sneakily behind Max Domi and into the slot. That's where he was when captain Nico Hischier made a spinning pass to the top of the crease. Hamilton re-directed the puck on net but was stopped by goaltender Arvid Soderblom.
Minutes later in the first period, Hamilton jumped off the bench and watched Jack Hughes skate the puck into the offensive zone. Hughes found himself surrounded by four Blackhawks. The tight collection of players left another wide-open sheet of ice at the left point.
Hamilton drifted to the top of the circle as Hughes spun and made a pass through two players and right to the blade of Hamilton. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound blueliner unloaded on a shot that sailed by Soderblom and into the net to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.
"On that play, I was just hoping that (Hughes) would somehow find me and get it to me," Hamilton told the Devils' official website "He's definitely memorizing with the puck, the stuff he does and things he's able to do with it. I just tried to get open for him and create some space for him."

Hamilton, 29, is a right-handed shot, but when he hit the ice he skated to the left defensive position, which gave him a better angle to shoot the puck on net from the circle. And it was really just a happenstance as Damon Severson had remained on the ice in the right slot.
"We had D on the right already, I was jumping on the play left," Hamilton said. "I saw some ice there and a great pass obviously."
Those two plays perfectly encapsulate the way Hamilton played the entire game. He ended the night with a goal, two assists, three points (figuring in on all three Devils' goals) and a plus-2 to go along with a team-high seven shots.
"I wasn't really happy with my last couple of games. So, I'm trying to get myself back to my game (Tuesday)," he said. "I felt like I got into some good spots and got some good chances. You just have to try to keep doing that kind of thing every game."
The three points tied a career high (last accomplished Dec. 17, 2019 at Winnipeg).
"Dougie had a really good night," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "He sensed when he could get in there offensively. Within a shift and a half he had two or three chances. He scored the one and could have had a couple more in the first period. He made it really tough on Chicago and their coverage."
Creating defensive coverage breakdowns is tantamount to Lindy Ruff's system. In the offensive zone, defensemen are required to read the play and react, pinching into openings to create coverage problems for opponents (such as Hamilton's chance in the game's opening second).
But there's also a catch. The defensemen have to be smart on on their reads and pick the right spots and time. Either by making sure they can recover in the situation of a turnover and transition against, or by ensuring that a forward is reloading into the blueliner's vacated spot on the blue line.
"Part of that is our game and part of that is to create confusion," Ruff said. "When we do that, and we make a bad play, all of a sudden the puck is going the other way,"
Decision-making is critical in these scenarios.
"It's definitely hard," Hamilton admitted. "Sometimes it's not going to work. You're trying to do your best to find a good spot. Sometimes it's not going to work but you try to do more good than bad."

Hamilton has done much more good than bad this season. He and Jonas Siegenthaler have been a very productive duo. The steadying defensive attributes of Siegenthaler (who is tied for the NHL lead with a plus-22) and offensive instincts of Hamilton have been a good blend.
"It's great," Hamilton said of playing with his partner. "Obviously, everyone has seen how good he is. It's been a lot of fun to play with him and keep developing chemistry. We're just trying our best to play well and keep the puck out of our net and see what we can do pushing it up the ice. He's been great to play with on and off the ice as well. I definitely have a lot of fun with him."
But it's Hamilton's offensive prowess that separates him from most other defensemen in the NHL.
The 11-year-veteran has seven goals, 19 points and a plus-15 in 26 games this season. The seven goals ranked fifth (tied, Adam Fox) and the plus-15 places fourth (tied, John Marino, Josh Mahura) among all NHL defensemen.
"I really liked Doug's game. He's been solid all year long," Ruff said.
Another aspect of the Devils' system encourages defensemen to join the transition attack on the rush as the fourth-, or even second- or third-, man up.
Hamilton has been very active in this regard, and it is a key component to his success all year, including Tuesday against the Hawks.
"We had better execution to start the plays, which allowed us to get up there," he said. "We were more connected in our breakouts, which allows us to get in the rush. Sometimes it's different when you play different teams or how we're playing.
"I just happen to get into good spots for good players to find me."