The Matchup: Rob Blake vs. Chris Pronger

The Game: St. Louis at Los Angeles, 10 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN2)

The Question: Can you really say Pronger is better than Blake?

Rob Blake

Chris Pronger

Different styles but similar results
Even though Chris Pronger just won the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL, it isn't easy to say he's better than Rob Blake.

If forced to choose betwen the two, I would choose Pronger, but by the barest of margins. They are similar players in many ways. They are both big with great range and excellent skills for players of their size.

But they don't play with similar styles.

Blake is a deceptively fast skater -- faster than Pronger. He has a harder shot and is a bigger hitter than Pronger. Blake has a dynamic presence inside his own zone when it comes to the big hits. He will line skaters up coming over the middle and often deliver a hit that will fire up his team and maybe change the momentum of a game. He hits like a heavyweight with a knockout blow.

Pronger, on the other hand, will not necessarily look for the huge, devastating hit. He mostly gets his shots in along the boards, but he's plain nasty as he goes about his business. Pronger is the type of player I like to call a "talented bully". He relies on his stick a lot. This could hamper him if the expected crackdown on stickwork actually comes to pass, but as of now, he punishes each and every skater that passes through his area. Pronger hits like a street-fighter -- relentlessly and from any direction.

Pronger won't just hack away, though. He has one of the most effective poke-checks in the league. Also, while Blake can rip the glove off the goalie's hand, Pronger excels at making the great first pass that starts the offensive break in transition.

Pronger is like a combine that cuts a huge swath through the field. Blake is the locomotive. He covers a narrower area but delivers a much more powerful blow. Blake might be even better now than in his Norris-winning year, but the overall edge goes, by a matter of degrees, to Pronger. From shift to shift his control of his own zone, his ability to punish people consistently and, therefore, intimidate consistently, make him more valuable.

Brian Engblom is a color commentator and analyst for ESPN's NHL coverage. He played 11 seasons in the NHL.