Shorthanded goal Short handed is a term used in ice hockey and 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 . If a goaltender commits a minor , another player who was on the ice at the time of the penalty serves , often but not necessarily the team captain . 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 . Not only does the power play team have the man advantage , the penalized team is frequently trapped in their zone and often cannot make line changes , resulting in their players being on the ice for longer - than - normal shifts . As a result , the penalized team ' s players are often exhausted when the penalty expired and they are often scored on shortly afterwards . The team on the power play often only has one defenceman at the rear rather than the typical two , in favor of adding another attacker . Rarely , teams have often pulled their goalie for the sixth on - ice player ( such as in Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals ) . Players assigned to power play or penalty killing duties are often know as " special teams " . During a power play , the shorthanded team may launch the puck to the opposite end of the rink , and play will continue : icing is not called . 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 . If the team on the power play scores in a penalty shot , the penalized player must remain in the penalty box . 5 - on - 3 . 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 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 . A call for too many men on the ice in a 5 - on - 3 situation in the last two minutes of regulation or in overtime now results in a 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 faceoff was held relieving pressure on the defence . 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 . Normally , a team would be outnumbered because of a penalty incurred . However , the opposing team on the power play often only has one defenceman at the rear rather than the typical two , in favor of adding another attacker . This strategy can often be exploited by the shorthanded team , if they do manage to get the puck out into the neutral zone leaving most of the opposing players behind , and the penalty killers may enjoy odd man rushes and breakaway s against the single defenceman of the advantaged team . Short handed goals are somewhat infrequent when a team is down one player . Very rarely is a short handed goal scored by a team that is down two players . Current Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards is the only player in the history of the NHL to score three career 3 - on - 5 goals , having attained the last one during the 2008 - 09 NHL Season . When one team pulls its goalie near the end of a game to play with an extra attacker , any goal scored on the empty net is not considered to be short handed ( because there are equal numbers of players on ice for the teams ) .