Short handed

In ice hockey, short handed refers to having fewer skaters on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the penalty box for a set amount of time proportional to the severity of the infraction. The penalized team is said to be on the penalty kill (PK) while their players are in the penalty box. The opposing team is usually referred to as having an "advantage" until the penalized player returns to play. This situation is often called a power play for the opposing team, due to the increased likelihood of scoring during this time. If the team with the advantage scores a goal while the other team is short handed, the penalty is over, unless it was a major penalty.

A team can have two 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 5-on-3. This situation often leads to a goal for the team on the power play. 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.

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. Normally, a team would be outnumbered because of a penalty incurred. Short handed goals are often scored when a team is down one player; more infrequently, a team down two players will score a short handed goal. When one team pulls its goalie near the end of a game to play with a six-on-five advantage, any goal scored on the empty net is not considered to be short handed.

If the team on the power play scores in a penalty shot, the penalized player must remain in the penalty box.