Power play (sport)

"Power play" is a sporting term used in many various games.

In several team sports, situations arise where following a rules infraction, one team is penalized by having the number of players on the field of play temporarily reduced. The term power play is commonly applied to the state of advantage the unpenalized team enjoys during this time. Specialized tactics and strategies can apply while a team is on the power play.

In ice hockey, a team is said to be on a power play when at least one opposing player is serving a penalty, and the team has a numerical advantage on the ice (whenever both teams have the same number of players on the ice, there is no power play). Up to two players per side may serve in the penalty box, giving a team up to a possible 5-on-3 power play. If a goaltender commits a foul, another player who was on the ice at the time of the penalty serves.

There are two types of penalties that can result in a power play for the non-offending team: minor (two minutes) and major (five minutes). For such penalties, the offending player is ruled off the ice and no substitute for the penalized player is permitted. A power play resulting from a minor penalty ends if the team with more players on the ice scores. If the penalty is instead a double minor, a goal scored by the team with advantage ends the first minor penalty, so that 2 goals by the team with more players are needed to end the power play. If a player is given a major penalty (five minute duration), a power play occurs, but if the team on the power play scores, the penalty is not ended, except if the goal is scored in overtime, as this ends the game. Major penalties only end when five minutes have elapsed or the game has ended. If a team is still on a power play at the end of a regulation period, or at the end of a playoff overtime period, the power play will continue into the following period. "Misconduct" penalties (10 minutes in duration), and "game misconduct" penalties (offending player is ejected for the balance of the game) allow for substitution of the offending player, so do not result in power plays. However in practice, misconduct and game misconduct penalties are often assessed in addition to a major or minor penalty. A "match" penalty results in the offending player being ejected for the balance of the game and a 5-minute power play for the non-offending team. The power play does not end if the advantaged team scores a goal, identical to major penalties.

A goal scored by the short-handed team during a power play is called a short-handed goal. If a power play ends without a goal against the shorthanded team, it is said to have killed the penalty. If a team scores on the power play, it is said to have converted the power play (that is, converted the opportunity into a goal).

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