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 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. When one team pulls its goaltender 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. 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 holds the record for most career 3-on-5 goals with three, having attained the last one during the
2008–09 season. 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 in only 1:04 of game time, during a minor
hooking penalty to Bruins defenseman
Matt Hunwick. 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). The most short-handed goals ever scored in one NHL game by one team occurred on April 7, 1995, when the
Winnipeg Jets scored four, the most since the end of the era of the
Original Six teams of the NHL. ==See also==