Goal (ice hockey)

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Peter Bondra, of the Atlanta Thrashers scoring a goal versus Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers. Peter Bondra scoring.jpg
Peter Bondra, of the Atlanta Thrashers scoring a goal versus Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers.

In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck entirely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to (see also own goal). Typically, a player on the team attempting to score shoots the puck with their stick towards the goal net opening, and a player on the opposing team called a goaltender tries to block the shot to prevent a goal from being scored against their team.

Contents

The term goal may also refer to the structure in which goals are scored. The ice hockey goal is rectangular in shape; the front frame of the goal is made of steel tube painted red and consists of two vertical goalposts and a horizontal crossbar. A net is attached to the back of the frame to catch pucks that enter the goal and also to prevent pucks from entering it from behind. The entire goal is considered an inbounds area of the playing surface, and it is legal to play the puck behind the goal. Under NHL rules, the opening of the goal is 72 inches (180 cm) wide by 48 inches (120 cm) tall, and the footprint of the goal is 40 inches (100 cm) deep. [1]

Method of scoring

In this diagram, the blue player on the right would be credited with an assist, while the blue player on the left would score the goal. Ice Hockey 2-on-1 One-Timer.gif
In this diagram, the blue player on the right would be credited with an assist, while the blue player on the left would score the goal.

The object of the game of ice hockey is to score more goals than the opposing team. Goaltenders and defencemen are concerned primarily with keeping the other team from scoring a goal, while forwards are primarily concerned with scoring goals on the other team. Forwards also have to be defensively responsible while defencemen need to press offensively, and it is not unknown for goalies to attempt to position the puck for a counterattack, or even attempt to shoot against an unguarded net.

For a goal to be scored, the puck normally must entirely cross the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar of the goal frame. A goal is not allowed under any of the following conditions:

Additionally, in many leagues, a goal does not count if a player from the attacking team has a skate or stick in the goal crease before the puck. The National Hockey League (NHL) abolished this rule starting in the 1999-2000 season after the disputed triple-overtime goal in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars scored the series-clinching goal against the Buffalo Sabres. There are those who believe that video replay shows Hull's skate in the crease prior to the puck.

A goal may be awarded if a player would normally be awarded a penalty shot, but the opposing team had substituted a skater for a goaltender. In such rare cases, a goal is awarded rather than allowing a penalty shot attempt on an empty goal net.

Credit for goals and assists

Typically, the last player on the goal-scoring team to touch the puck before it goes into the net is credited with scoring that goal. Zero, one, or two other players on the goal-scoring team may also credited with an assist for helping their teammate to score the goal. If another player on the goal-scoring team touched the puck to help score the goal before the goal-scoring player touched it without an opposing player intervening (touching the puck in between), then that player gets an assist. If yet another player on the goal-scoring team also touched the puck before that without an opposing player intervening, then that player also gets an assist. [2]

For a hockey player, a goal or an assist credited to them is also considered a point; thus the number of goals scored by that player plus the number of assists for them equals the number of points for that player. However, a rule says that only one point can be credited to any one player on a goal scored. [3] This means one player cannot be credited with a goal and an assist for the same goal scored; instead the player would only get credit for a goal and a different player may get credit for an assist, if applicable. It also means that one player cannot be credited with two assists for the same goal scored; instead the player would only get credit for one assist and a different player may get credit for the other assist, if applicable.

Usually on a hockey team, forwards score the most goals and get the most points, although defensemen can score goals and often get assists. In professional play, goaltenders only occasionally get an assist, and only very rarely score a goal when the opposite net is empty (without a goaltender).

Scoring statistics

The number of goals scored is a closely watched statistic. Each year the Rocket Richard Trophy is presented to the NHL player to have scored the most goals. The trophy is named after Maurice Richard, the first player to score 50 goals in a season, at a time when the NHL regular season was only 50 games (compared to 82 today). The player to have scored the most goals in an NHL season is Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky is also the fastest to 50 goals; during his record-setting 1981–82 season, in which he finished with 92 goals, he scored his 50th goal in the Edmonton Oilers' 39th game of the season.

The overall amount of goal scoring is also closely watched. In recent years, goal scoring has decreased. Many believe the game is less entertaining because of this, and blame the change on the increasing size of goaltending equipment and the advent of defensive systems such as the neutral zone trap. Fans of defensive hockey counter by saying the high scoring of the 1980s was an anomaly, and this shift represents a return to the norm. For the 2004-05 American Hockey League season, four major rule changes were made that were intended to increase the scoring in games and make it more popular among casual fans:

  1. increasing the size of the attack zones by narrowing the neutral zone two feet each side and thus moving the goal line back two feet
  2. restrictions on the goaltender playing the puck
  3. permitting offside players to negate the penalty by "tagging up" with the blue line
  4. changing the offside rule by permitting passes which cross the center line and one blue line (but not between both blue lines in certain restrictions).

The AHL rules were slightly modified and adopted in the NHL and ECHL for 2005-06, when the NHL returned after the 2004 lockout.

Types of goals

There are a number of different types of goals for which separate statistics are kept, but all count equally:

The goal judge is an official positioned off-ice behind each goal for the specific purpose of indicating when the puck has crossed the goal line and entered the goal. For arenas so equipped, the goal judge turns on a red light behind the goal when they see the puck cross the goal line. As in all matters, however, the referee retains final authority and can override the opinion of the goal judge.

The two teammates of the scorer who last touched the puck before them, provided that no opponent touched it in between, are each credited with an assist. Assists and goals count equally to comprise a player's statistical scoring total.

If a hockey player causes the puck to enter their own team's net — which in soccer is called an own goal — credit for the goal goes to the last player on the scoring team to have touched the puck. No assists are awarded. If a shot deflects off a defender and enters the net, it is not considered an own goal.

Other phrases include a garbage goal, for a goal scored more as the result of luck or opportunism than skill, and a breakaway goal for a goal scored when a player has gotten behind the defenders to face the goaltender alone.

When a player scores three goals in a game it is known as a hat-trick. A natural hat trick occurs when a player scores three consecutive goals, uninterrupted by any other player scoring for either team. [4] A Gordie Howe hat trick occurs when a player scores a goal, gets an assist and gets in a fight.

Any puck heading towards the net is counted as a shot. When the goaltender prevents the shot from entering the net, they are credited with a save . Shots resulting in saves by the goaltender or goals scored are considered shots on goal (or shots on net). A shot which is blocked by an opposing player before it reaches the goaltender is not considered a shot on net. Also, if the puck is deflected wide of the net by another player (regardless of team) it is not counted as a shot on net. If a goaltender traps the puck that was heading towards the goal, but wide, it is often not counted as a shot; nor are shots that bounce off the crossbar or posts.

Goal horn

The trend of sounding a horn when the home team scores a goal originated in the 1973 Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks. Black Hawks owner Bill Wirtz had the horn of his yacht installed in the team’s home arena, Chicago Stadium, and had it sound after Black Hawks goals. This practice become commonplace in professional hockey. [5] In 2022, all goal horns are paired with a song. Some notable ones include The Fratellis' Chelsea Dagger, used by the Chicago Blackhawks, [6] Tim McGraw's I Like It, I Love It, which has a couple words substituted to fit the Nashville Predators, [7] and Ray Castoldi, the music director and organist and Madison Square Garden's Slapshot, a song used by the New York Rangers since 1995. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey</span> Team sport played on ice using sticks, skates, and a puck

Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding team sports. It is distinct from field hockey, in which players move a ball around a non-frozen pitch using field hockey sticks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goalkeeper</span> Player in sports preventing the opposing team from scoring

In many team sports that involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting opposing shots on goal. Such positions exist in bandy, rink bandy, camogie, association football, Gaelic football, international rules football, floorball, handball, hurling, field hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey, lacrosse, ringette, rinkball, water polo, and shinty, as well as in other sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Own goal</span> Goal scored against a players own team

An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in the player scoring points for the opposition, such as when a football player puts a ball into their own net.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goal (sports)</span> Method of scoring in many sports

In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is placed at or near each end of the playing field for each team to defend. For many sports, each goal structure usually consists of two vertical posts, called goal posts, supporting a horizontal crossbar. A goal line marked on the playing surface between the goal posts demarcates the goal area. Thus, the objective is to send the ball or puck between the goal posts, under or over the crossbar, and across the goal line. Other sports may have other types of structures or areas where the ball or puck must pass through, such as the basketball hoop. Sports which feature goal scoring are also commonly known as invasion games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assist (ice hockey)</span> Point awarded to players whose passes enabled a goal

In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal. The assists will be awarded in the order of play, with the last player to pass the puck to the goal scorer getting the primary assist and the player who passed it to the primary assister getting the secondary assist. Players who gain an assist will get one point added to their player statistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icing (ice hockey)</span> Ice hockey rule

In ice hockey, icing is an infraction when a player touches the puck over the center red line and then opposing team's red goal line, and the puck remains untouched without scoring a goal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defenceman</span> Position in ice hockey

Defence or defense in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners. They were once called cover-point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goaltender</span> Person who tends the goal in ice hockey

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near the area in front of the net called the goal crease. Goaltenders tend to stay at or beyond the top of the crease to cut down on the angle of shots. In the modern age of goaltending there are two common styles, butterfly and hybrid. Because of the power of shots, the goaltender wears special equipment to protect the body from direct impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penalty (ice hockey)</span> Punishment for breaking the rules in ice hockey

A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penalties are called and enforced by the referee, or in some cases, the linesman. The offending team may not replace the player on the ice, leaving them short-handed as opposed to full strength. When the opposing team is said to be on a power play, they will have one more player on the ice than the short-handed team. The short-handed team is said to be "on the penalty kill" until the penalty expires and the penalized player returns to play. While standards vary somewhat between leagues, most leagues recognize several common varieties of penalties, as well as common infractions.

In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except the goaltender. This is the same type of shot used in a shootout to decide games in some leagues.

In ice hockey, a play is offside if a player on the attacking team does not control the puck and is in the offensive zone when a different attacking player causes the puck to enter the offensive zone, until either the puck or all attacking players leave the offensive zone. Simply put, the puck must not enter the attacking zone after attacking players. If a player on the attacking team is in the offensive zone before the puck, either an immediate offside occurs, or they must retreat to the neutral zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roller in-line hockey</span> Sport discipline

Roller in-line hockey, American roller hockey or inline hockey, is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a very fast-paced and free-flowing game and is considered a contact sport, but body checking is prohibited. There are five players including the goalkeeper from each team on the rink at a time, while teams normally consist of 16 players. There are professional leagues, one of which is the National Roller Hockey League (NRHL). While it is not a contact sport, there are exceptions, i.e. the NRHL involves fighting.

The following are statistics commonly tracked in ice hockey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hockey League rules</span>

The National Hockey League rules are the rules governing the play of the National Hockey League (NHL), a professional ice hockey organization. Infractions of the rules, such as offside and icing, lead to a stoppage of play and subsequent face-offs, while more serious infractions lead to penalties being assessed to the offending team. The league also determines the specifications for playing equipment used in its games.

This is a list of common terms used in the sport of ice hockey along with the definitions of these terms.

No goal is a call made by referees in various goal-scoring sports to indicate that a goal has not been scored. It is commonly used to disallow an apparent goal, such as when the ball or puck has entered the net but should not count as a score due to some foul or infraction.

The National Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition, officially the NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition during certain past years, is an event on the night preceding the National Hockey League All-Star Game. Started at the 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game in Pittsburgh in 1990, the NHL uses the event to showcase the talents of its all-star participants. The All-Star teams select representatives for each event, with points awarded to the winning team.

In ice hockey, an awarded goal is an unusual situation in which a goal is awarded to a team rather than scored. A penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except the goaltender. However, when such a lost opportunity occurs and the opposing team has pulled its goalie to allow for an extra attacker, a goal is simply awarded without a penalty shot taking place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Stanley Cup Finals</span> 2019 ice hockey championship series

The 2019 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2018–19 season and the culmination of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference champion St. Louis Blues defeated the Eastern Conference champion Boston Bruins four games to three in the best-of-seven series. It was the Blues' first championship, in their 51st season of play, ending what was then the third-longest championship drought in league history. The Bruins had home-ice advantage in the series with the better regular season record. The series began on May 27 and concluded on June 12. The Blues' Stanley Cup–winning run of 26 playoff games tied the 2014 Los Angeles Kings for the longest of any Stanley Cup–winning team in history.

References

  1. "2018-2019 NHL Rulebook" (PDF). nhl.com. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  2. "Hockey - NHL Stats Explained". Archived from the original on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  3. "NHL Official Rules - Rule 78 - Goals" . Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  4. Adam Kimmelman, Jonah Bruce (15 November 2010). "Hat tricks coming at a fairly frequent pace". NHL Insider. NHL . Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  5. Grossman, Evan (April 25, 2016). "The history behind the NHL's ubiquitous sound for scoring: the goal horn". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  6. ""Ever wonder how Chelsea Dagger became the Blackhawks' goal song?"". NBC Sports. 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  7. "Predators Move Forward with New Goal Song". NHL.com. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  8. "'Slapshot' explained: How the New York Rangers goal song became a staple at Madison Square Garden". www.sportingnews.com. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-08.