Faceoff

A face-off is the method used to begin play in ice hockey and some other sports. The two teams line up in opposition to each other, and the opposing skaters attempt to gain control of the puck after it is dropped between their sticks by an official. Face-offs are generally handled by centres, although some wingers handle face-offs and very rarely, some defensemen as well. One of the referees drops the puck at centre ice to start each period and following the scoring of a goal. The linesmen are responsible for all other face-offs.

One player from each team stands at the face-off spot (see below) to await the drop of the puck. All teammates must be lateral to or behind the player taking the face-off (this is in contrast to basketball, for example, where the player taking the tipoff is encircled by teammates). Generally, the goal of the player taking the face-off is to draw the puck backward, toward teammates; however, they will, occasionally attempt to shoot the puck forward, past the other team, to kill time when shorthanded. However, where the face-off occurs at one of the five face-off spots that have circles marked around them, only the two opposing players responsible for taking the face-off may be in the circle. A common formation, especially at centre ice, is for a skater to take the face-off, with the wings lateral to the centre on either side, and the skater, usually a defenseman, behind the player handling the face-off, one toward each side. This is not mandatory, however, and other formations are seen—especially where the face-off is in one of the four corner face-off spots.

Face-offs are typically conducted at designated places marked on the ice called face-off spots or dots. There are nine such spots: two in each attacking zone, two on each end of the neutral zone, and one in the centre of the rink. Face-offs did not always take place at the marked face-off spots. If a puck left the playing surface, for example, the face-off would take place wherever the puck was last played. On June 20, 2007, the NHL Board of Governors approved a change to NHL Rule 76.2, which governs face-off locations. The rule now requires that all face-offs take place at one of the nine face-off spots on the ice, regardless of what caused the stoppage of play. Rule 76.2 also dictates that, with some exceptions, a face-off following a penalty must occur at one of the two face-off dots of the offending team's end.

An official may remove the player taking the face-off if the player or any players from the same team attempt to gain an unfair advantage during the face-off (called a face-off violation). When a player is removed, one of the teammates not originally taking the face-off is required to take the face-off. Common face-off violations include: moving the stick before the puck is dropped, not placing the stick properly when requested to do so, not placing the body square to the face-off spot, or encroachment into the face-off circle by a teammate. In the NHL, the player from the visiting team is required to place his stick on the ice for the face-off first when it takes place at the centre-line dot. For all other face-offs, the player from the defending team must place his stick first. Before the league's 2015–16 season, the visiting player was required to place his stick first on all face-offs.

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