{{Short description|Sports term for having fewer players due to penalty}} {{Redirect|Shorthanded|the poker term|Shorthanded (poker)}} {{notability|sports|date=March 2024}} '''Short-handed''' is a term used in [[ice hockey]] and several related sports, including [[water polo]], and refers to having fewer players on the [[hockey rink|ice]] during play, as a result of a [[Penalty (ice hockey)|penalty]]. The penalized team is said to be on the '''penalty kill''', abbreviated as "PK", and the opposing team is on a [[power play]], with an "advantage" until the penalized player returns to play.
==Impact on gameplay==
Players assigned to power play or penalty killing duties are often known as "special teams". The team on the power play often only has one defenseman at the rear rather than the typical two, so that it can add another attacker. This strategy can be exploited by the short-handed team, if they manage to get the puck into the neutral zone, leaving most of the opposing players behind, and the penalty killers may enjoy odd man rushes and [[Breakaway (ice hockey)|breakaway]]s against the single defenseman of the advantaged team.
In most competitions, the short-handed team is free to [[icing (hockey)|ice the puck]] without the play being stopped, and thus can change [[line (ice hockey)|lines]] at roughly the same intervals as during five-on-five play. Some governing bodies have enforced icing for teams on the penalty kill, including the [[World Hockey Association]] during the 1970s,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Revak |first1=Greg |title=The History of Icing the Puck |url=https://hockeysarsenal.substack.com/p/icing-history |access-date=6 March 2026 |work=Hockey IQ Newsletter |date=11 March 2021}}</ref> the [[United States Hockey League]] (USHL) during its 2014 Fall Classic exhibition series,<ref>{{cite news |title=USHL announces preseason testing for 3-on-3 OT, no icing during penalty kills|url=http://www.mihockey.com/2014/09/ushl-announces-preseason-testing-for-3-on-3-ot-no-icing-during-penalty-kills/ |access-date=6 March 2026 |work=MiHockey |date=15 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Muir |first1=Allan |title=USHL’s icing experiment could show NHL the way to boost scoring |url=https://www.si.com/nhl/2015/11/16/ushl-icing-rules-experiment-could-boost-nhl-scoring |access-date=6 March 2026 |work=Sports Illustrated |date=16 November 2015}}</ref> and [[USA Hockey]] for all sanctioned youth competitions (players 14 and under, in all age groups) since 2017–18.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fitz-Gerald |first1=Sean |title=The USA Hockey rule change that’s forcing youth players to think, not ice |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3123764/2022/02/15/the-usa-hockey-rule-change-thats-forcing-youth-players-to-think-not-ice/ |access-date=6 March 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=15 February 2022}}</ref>
==5-on-3==
A team can have two or more players in the penalty box, but can only be limited to three players on the ice at any given time. If the other team is at [[full strength]] and the penalized team has two players in the penalty box, plus a goalie in net, the situation is called a [[five on three]]. This situation gives the team on the power play an even greater chance of scoring. If the advantaged team on the 5-on-3 scores, the player who took the earlier of the two penalties may return to the ice, and play resumes as a power play with only one player in the penalty box. However, if the first penalty taken was a double-minor penalty, the penalty that expires is the first penalty of the double-minor, and the clock then begins to run down on the second penalty, with the 5-on-3 continuing.
A call for [[Too many men#Hockey|too many men on the ice]] in a 5-on-3 situation in the last two minutes of regulation or in overtime results in a [[Penalty shot (ice hockey)|penalty shot]]. This current rule resulted from coach [[Roger Neilson]]'s exploitation of rule loopholes during an OHL game when his team was up one goal, but was down two men in a five-on-three situation for the last minute of the game. Realizing that more penalties could not be served under the existing rules, Neilson put too many men on the ice every ten seconds. The referees stopped the play and a face-off was held, relieving pressure on the defense.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stevenson |first1=Chris |title=Known for his color, Neilson honored for change |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/columns/stevenson_chris/1455512.html |access-date=6 March 2026 |work=ESPN |date=4 November 2002}}</ref>
In regular-season overtime in the NHL, which is normally played 3-on-3, a 5-on-3 situation is possible if two players on one team are serving penalties at the same time.
==Short-handed goals==
A short-handed goal is a goal scored in ice hockey when a team's on-ice players are outnumbered by the opposing team's. If the team on the power play scores a [[goal (ice hockey)|goal]] while the other team is short-handed, the penalty is over, except if a goal was scored during a major penalty or a match penalty in regulation time. In the [[Professional Women's Hockey League]] (PWHL) in North America, a minor penalty ends if ''either team'' scores a goal; a short-handed goal during a minor penalty is called a "jailbreak goal" in the PWHL for this reason.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=January 1, 2024 |title=PWHL to feature new shorthanded goal rule, three-point standing system |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/pwhl/article/pwhl-to-feature-new-shorthanded-goal-rule-three-point-standing-system/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115202907/https://www.sportsnet.ca/pwhl/article/pwhl-to-feature-new-shorthanded-goal-rule-three-point-standing-system/ |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |access-date=January 15, 2024 |work=Sportsnet}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Erin |title=For Better or Worse, The PWHL's Ushered In New Rules |url=https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/for-better-or-worse-the-pwhls-ushered-in-new-rules |access-date=6 March 2026 |work=The Hockey News |date=19 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
When one team pulls its goaltender near the end of a game to play with an extra attacker, any goal scored on the [[Extra attacker|empty net]] is not considered to be short-handed, because there are equal numbers of players on ice for the teams.
Short-handed goals are somewhat infrequent when a team is down one player, and some instances have occurred where two short-handed goals have been scored on the same penalty. Very rarely is a short-handed goal scored by a team that is down two players (the general approach when down two men is for the opposing team to assume the "iron cross:" establish a diamond shape with one forward, two defensemen and the goaltender, remain in the defensive zone, and clear the puck whenever possible, without making any effort to make an offensive play and jeopardize the already weakened defensive position). Former [[Philadelphia Flyers]] captain [[Mike Richards (ice hockey)|Mike Richards]] holds the record for most career 3-on-5 goals with three, having attained the last one during the [[2008–09 NHL season|2008–09 season]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ID-MMTbUhU |title=5-on-3 Shorthanded Goals in NHL History |date=2020-06-27 |last=NHL |access-date=2025-01-14 |via=YouTube}}</ref> The quickest trio of short-handed goals ever scored in a [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) game occurred on April 10, 2010, during a game at the [[TD Garden]] between the [[Boston Bruins]] and [[Carolina Hurricanes]], when the Bruins scored three short-handed goals against Carolina's goaltender [[Cam Ward (ice hockey)|Cam Ward]] in only 1:04 of game time, during a minor [[hooking (ice hockey)|hooking]] penalty to Bruins defenseman [[Matt Hunwick]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston Bruins - Carolina Hurricanes - Apr 10, 2010 {{!}} NHL.com |url=https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-car/2010/04/10/2009021212 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.nhl.com |language=en}}</ref> The [[Boston Bruins]] also made NHL history for those short-handed goals, as it was the first time that a team scored three times on a single penalty kill ([[Daniel Paille]], [[Blake Wheeler]], [[Steve Bégin]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rare short-handed feat secures B’s post-season |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/bruins-64-seconds/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.sportsnet.ca |language=en}}</ref> The most short-handed goals ever scored in one NHL game by one team occurred on April 7, 1995, when the [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg Jets]] scored four, the most since the end of the era of the [[Original Six]] teams of the NHL.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bruins.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009021212 |title=Bruins 4, Hurricanes 2 |publisher=[[Boston Bruins]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=April 10, 2010 |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812054254/http://bruins.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2009021212 |archive-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Power play (sport)|Power play]] * [[Sports strategy]]
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Short Handed}} [[Category:Ice hockey rules and regulations]] [[Category:Ice hockey terminology]]