How do faceoffs, handpasses and broken sticks work in the NHL? – Desert News

In the third version of my hockey mailbag series I will answer as many questions as possible. If you haven’t checked out my two previous mailbag articles, give them a read. They covered fines And line changes.

If you have hockey questions that you would like answered in article form, keep an eye out for my next mailbag request on X. I’ll probably do another one in a month.

I just want to make a quick comment that makes everything else make sense: hockey is a game of zones. A team has a strategic advantage when it controls the puck in the other team’s zone. Many rules are based on these benefits.

How do faceoffs work?

You’ve probably already realized that when play stops, it resumes via a face-off: two players battle for puck possession. But what are the rules for a confrontation? Why are players kicked out of the faceoff circle? How do they determine where the face-off will be held?

Let’s dive in.

In the diagram below you will see that there are five circles, each with a dot in the center, and four additional red dots. These are the only locations where a confrontation can take place.

One player per team is allowed in the faceoff circle. Teams’ centermen, also called centres, usually take the faceoffs. The home team player places his stick first, followed by the visiting team’s center.

If either player moves their stick before the referee drops the puck, they will be waved out of the faceoff circle. At this point, one of his teammates must take the face-off. If that player is also waved off, the team will receive a delay of game penalty.

You’ll notice that the four faceoff circles in the corners have additional markings on both the inside and outside. These are guidelines for where each player should stand, and they apply to faceoffs at all locations – not just the locations with the markings.

The marks on the outside of the circles are called hashmarks. Both teams’ players must stand behind their respective teams’ hashmarks until the puck drops. The right angles on the inside of the circles indicate where and how the center men should stand. Their toes should not cross the horizontal lines and their feet should be parallel to the vertical lines.

Faceoff locations are determined by two things: the location of the game-stopping event and the type of game-stopping event. The NHL rulebook has five and a half pages of explanations of the details of confrontations, including locations for every possible scenario. I’ll summarize.

If your team is responsible for the stoppage of play, the face-off usually takes place in the least favorable location for your team. Here are some examples of scenarios that could cause a confrontation in your zone:

• Your team takes a penalty
• Your goalie covers the puck
• Your team is called for icing
• Your team ensures that the puck goes out of play from your zone

There are also some scenarios where the faceoff is held at one of the neutral zone locations. These include:

• When a goal is scored
• When a period begins
• When either team is called for offside
• When the puck goes out of play in the neutral zone
• When a goalie covers the puck but the attacking team’s defensemen become involved in a scrum at the net
• When the officials make a mistake

There are many more situations that determine the confrontation locations, but these are the most important.

How do offside and icing work in hockey?

First let me emphasize again that in hockey it is ‘offside’ – and not ‘offside’. If you ever hear someone say it the wrong way, make sure you poke them in the eye.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s explain what offside and icing are.

Offside in hockey is similar to offside in football, except that the last defender is not the reference point, but the blue line. The puck must cross the blue line before a player from the attacking team does. If it happens the other way around, the linesman will whistle when the player touches the puck.

Once the puck leaves the zone, the entire offensive team must leave the offensive zone before they can bring the puck back in.

There is one exception to this rule, although it doesn’t happen often: if the defending team brings the puck back into the zone, it is not considered offside. This caused something confusion in the playoffs last yearalthough the linesman made the correct decision.

The person who asked this question understands icing, but I’ll explain it anyway for those who don’t.

Icing is when a team shoots the puck from its own side of center ice all the way to the back of the other team’s zone. But it doesn’t end there. The two teams race for positioning, and the winning team is the one that has the best chance of touching the puck by the time they reach the edge of the faceoff circle.

If the defending team wins the race, the linesman blows the whistle and the face-off takes place in the offending team’s zone. If the attacking team wins, the whistle is not blown and the attacking team can pursue puck possession in the attacking zone.

Please note that when a team is awarded a penalty, that team can freeze the puck without being called for. However, if both teams are in penalty kicks at the same time, neither team can freeze the puck.

What happens if a player breaks his stick?

Sticks in the current era are hollow and extremely lightweight. They are made of composite materials and most weigh 15 grams or less. That makes them very easy to use, but it also makes them very easy to break.

When a player breaks his stick, he must drop it immediately. If he continues to play with it, he will be fined for playing with illegal equipment. He can get a new stick in two ways: by grabbing one from the bench or by grabbing one from a teammate. This occasionally results in nice goals.

But usually when a player breaks his stick, he leaves the ice and someone else takes his place.

Some of you may be interested to know that players usually have multiple backup sticks in each game. At the entrance to every NHL locker room is a rack with dozens of sticks specifically for that game. Teams also have rooms full of sticks at their home courts.

Can a hockey player catch the puck?

The person who asked this question is very perceptive: a player can catch the puck, but he must immediately drop it. If he holds the puck too long, throws it, skates it, or does anything else that the referee decides works in the player’s favor, he will be penalized for keeping his hand on the puck.

A player is also not allowed to remove the puck from the ice, otherwise he will be penalized for closing his hand on the puck.

Goalkeepers are the exception to this rule. A goalie can “cover” or “freeze” the puck by grabbing it – from the air or off the ice – and holding it until an official blows the whistle.

Hand passes, which occur when a player hits or swipes the puck to a teammate, or when a puck deviates from a player’s glove and goes to a teammate, are only allowed in the defensive zone. If a handpass occurs in the neutral or offensive zone, a whistle will be blown, but no penalty will be assessed.

It is also important to note that if a player touches the puck with his hand while taking a face-off, he will be penalized.