Editing Defenceman (section)

{{short description|Position in ice hockey}}
{{for|a general definition|Defense (sports)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2021}}

[[File:Bourque 7.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ray Bourque]], the highest-scoring defenceman in NHL history]]
'''Defence''' or '''defense''' (in [[American English]]) in [[ice hockey]] is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from [[Goal (ice hockey)|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 defencemen complement three [[Forward (ice hockey)|forwards]] and a [[goaltender]] on the ice. Exceptions include [[Overtime (ice hockey)|overtime]] during the regular season and when a team is [[short-handed]] (i.e. has been assessed a penalty), in which two defencemen are typically joined by only two forwards and a goaltender; when a team is on the [[Power play (sporting term)|power play]] (i.e. the opponent has been assessed a penalty), teams will often play only one defenceman, joined by four forwards and a goaltender. In [[National Hockey League]] regular season play in overtime, effective with the [[2015–16 NHL season|2015-16 season]], teams (usually) have only three position players and a goaltender on the ice, and may use either two forwards and one defenceman, or{{mdash}}rarely{{mdash}}two defencemen and one forward.