In the 1980's, star players actually got shadowed. It was one man on one man, with no responsibility on defense other than to defend that guy.

If I recall correctly, Esa Tikkanen was often one of the gents assigned this less-than-pleasurable role.

The way teams defend superstars today is different.

Coaches now realize that shadowing a player doesn't make sense, because any player worth shadowing is going to be better than the guy you've put on him. Which means you've got a slightly less-skilled player paying slightly less attention to the puck than the most dangerous player on the ice – a recipe for a superstar point feast.

Second, it messes with a team's system. What are the other forwards supposed to do, conduct their own two-man systems while one guy plays rover? This makes it too easy for the opposing team to break out when you've essentially put your team short-handed.

For a while there, teams went to matching whole lines. But as I've preached before, it's really only the center on that line that makes a difference defensively. He's the only one playing low in the d-zone.

Once again, adjustments had to be made.

In today's NHL, the most logical way to shut down an opposing top line is to match your strongest defensive pair against those forwards. David Bolland's line didn't shut down Joe Thornton, the defenders did. It's been the preference of coaches for years – stick your best two big men out there to make life hell for the skill guys. If they want points, they'll have to go through your best blueliners to to get ‘em. At least it won't be fun.

In this year's Finals, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have combined to do absolute squat, thanks to the man everyone loves to hate, Chris Pronger. He's making all the difference.

Pronger annoys forwards for reasons beyond his grinding personality, hack-and-whack style, and big hits. He and other effective shut down D-men use their long sticks to create pressure, taking away time and space. A friend of mine who played for a rather strict junior coach used to make him say "good stick, good stick, good stick" as he relentlessly kept his blade as close to the blade of the puck-holder as possible.

When you think back to the Tikkanen years, systems weren't as important as talent. The best roster won on most nights, so it made sense to worry more about individual talent than team systems.

Today, having a huge D-man with a "good stick" at all times allows you to keep your systems in tact while frustrating the life out of opponents. It's a major change in the way teams shut down stars, and increases the value of a guy like Ottawa Senators free agent Anton Volchenkov, who's about to sign his own winning lottery ticket without having much offensive upside.

For the Blackhawks to finish out this series, those two forwards are going to have to find a way to crack big Chris.

For the Flyers to win, they're going to have to keep those D-on-forward matchups tight, and remember the best defensive slogan of all: "Good stick good stick good stick good stick."

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