Are defenses responsively (mostly) for shots against?

[voxel]

So... it seems the Ducks are last in the league in shots against per game:

NHL.com - Stats

Followed by the Panthers and Hawks. And by 5v5 Corsi they are also last in the league:

Team Season Totals - Natural Stat Trick

Since they've had tons of injuries on their forward core but their backend has been healthy lately(?) and yet they are still losing the SA + Corsi battle

Games - Natural Stat Trick

Can somebody explain why such a good D core is giving up so many shots? Do strong two-way forwards matter as much to team defense as D-men? Are their goalies giving up tons of rebounds and allowing second chances?

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[Spazkat]

From watching Id say primarily because most of the forwards right now belong in the AHL. They are possession black holes- even when they get the puck they lose it again so 80% of the game ends up played in the defensive zone. There is zero puck support from most of the forward group so the D end up trying to do it all them selves which... hasn't ended well.

Also Kevin Bieksa turning whichever pairing he's on into a trash fire

 

[rent free]

it matters about the whole team. if they don't keep the puck in the offensive zone, the other team will get the puck and bring it to their offensive zone and generate shots.

 

[Mikeshane]

Their Defense is offensively aggressive jumping up trying to create offense to make up for all the forwards being out, once they get their forwards back things will change.

 

[rent free]

also, people think d-cores are good because they have offensively-minded dmen. however, most dmen are not good at defense which is why opposing teams generate a lot of shots.

 

[613Leafer]

Forwards have a huge impact on team defence. The blueline is obviously very important as well, but it's not the only major factor.