page_title: Defenceman
hierarchical_section_title: Defenceman
caption_attribution_description: English: Boston Bruins' defenseman Ray Bourque, at the Bruins' 1981 home opener.
context_page_description: Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners. They were once called cover-point.
  In regular play, two defensemen complement three forwards and a goaltender on the ice. Exceptions include overtime during the regular season and when a team is shorthanded, in which two defensemen are typically joined by only two forwards and a goaltender; in National Hockey League play in overtime effective with the 2015-16 season the teams have only three position players and a goaltender on the ice and may use either two forwards and one defenseman, or conversely, two defencemen and one forward.
context_section_description: Defence (defense in the United States) in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to the blue line in ice hockey which represents the boundary of the offensive zone; defencemen generally position themselves along the line to keep the puck in the zone). They were once called cover-point. 
  In regular play, two defensemen complement three forwards and a goaltender on the ice. Exceptions include overtime during the regular season and when a team is shorthanded (i.e. has been assessed a penalty), in which two defensemen are typically joined by only two forwards and a goaltender; in National Hockey League play in overtime effective with the 2015-16 season the teams have only three position players and a goaltender on the ice and may use either two forwards and one defenseman  (typically), or conversely, two defencemen and one forward.
caption: Ray Bourque, the highest-scoring defenseman in NHL history, in 1981.
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