The most critical aspect of defensive zone entries is that the defensive players accepting the attack must correctly read the play. For the purposes of this book, defensive zone entries are defined as the moment the attacking team hits the offensive blue line with the puck. When this happens, the defensive players, who are usually the defensemen and possibly one forward, must scan the rush quickly and identify the number of attackers and defenders. Because of the dynamic nature of hockey, players must make this read in seconds, and rarely is any situation exactly like another. After the defenders see the rush clearly, they should call out whether it is a two on one, two on two, or three on two and communicate to any forwards coming back which player to pick up. The forwards coming back must read the rush quickly from the back side and pick up the right players....