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Kids Canes: The Power Play and Penalty Kill. When You’re In The Box.

By Chris Baker |
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 7: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes keeps an eye on an incoming puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 7: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes keeps an eye on an incoming puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 7, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The season is getting closer, and closer! We are inching our way to hockey time Kids Canes Readers! In getting ready for the season, we have been going over the penalties in hockey so you know what is going on when refs call the other team for a penalty against the Carolina Hurricanes. This week we are going to discuss the POWER PLAY and PENALTY KILL but first!

You know hockey season is getting near when teams start announcing pre-season schedules. The Hurricanes announced their pre-season schedule recently and there was a bit of excitement!

The schedule looks like this!September 26th Canes vs Lightning at CarolinaSeptember 27th Canes vs Panthers at CarolinaSeptember 29th Canes vs Panthers at FloridaSeptember 29th Canes vs Lightning at Tampa BayOctober 5th Canes vs Predators at NashvilleOctober 6th Canes vs Predators at Carolina
The schedule looks like this!September 26th Canes vs Lightning at CarolinaSeptember 27th Canes vs Panthers at CarolinaSeptember 29th Canes vs Panthers at FloridaSeptember 29th Canes vs Lightning at Tampa BayOctober 5th Canes vs Predators at NashvilleOctober 6th Canes vs Predators at Carolina /

Did you notice it? It took me a minute too!

The Hurricanes are playing two games, in two different cities, against two different teams, and at almost the same time…ON THE SAME DAY!

Holy hockey pucks! What in the world?

How will the Hurricanes play two games at the same time, in different towns?

By splitting up the team. Half the team will go to play the Panthers and half the team will play the Lightning.

Who goes where and plays what team will be the most exciting to see and interesting to watch!
Hurry up September! I want to see how this goes!

Now, on to the POWER PLAY and PENALTY KILL.

In the last two articles, we have read about the penalties that will put a hockey player in the penalty box. Usually a minor penalty will get a player 2 minutes, and a major penalty will get a player 5 minutes.

Remember if a player is in the penalty box, their team plays with one less player on the ice.

If a player commits a penalty and that player goes to the penalty box, their team is on the PENALTY KILL. That simply means they are down a player because the player is in the penalty box.

The team without the player in the penalty box is on the POWER PLAY. A POWER PLAY is when a team has all of their players on the ice, but the other team does not.

Let’s give you an example.
The Carolina Hurricanes are playing the Buffalo Sabres. One of the Sabres trips a Hurricane. The Sabres player gets called for a 2 minute TRIPPING penalty.

Buffalo will be on the PENALTY KILL for 2 minutes because they have a skater in the penalty box. Carolina will be on the POWER PLAY for 2 minutes because they have all their players on the ice.

Here is another example.

In that same game against the Buffalo Sabres, Seth “Nap Time” Jarvis gets caught HOOKING, and gets 2 minutes in the box. Carolina is suddenly on the PENALTY KILL because “Nap Time” Jarvis is in the penalty box, maybe taking a nap! He is not skating so the Hurricanes only have 4 players on the ice.

Buffalo is on the POWER PLAY because they have all 5 of their players on the ice.

Penalties hurt your team because they are on the PENALTY KILL while you are in the box. The other team has one more skater on the ice and are on the POWER PLAY.

That is a lot to remember, but just remember penalties hurt your team because they have fewer players on the ice.

One of the ways I learned to understand hockey better is by listening to hockey games on the radio. The Carolina Hurricanes have two really awesome radio broadcasters that tell you what is happening during the game so well. It makes it more exciting to hear Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy on the radio calling the game.

Kids Canes Challenge Answer
We learned that the PENALTY KILL is when a team has one less player on the ice because of a penalty. When a team has ALL of their players on the ice, but the other team does not, they are on the POWER PLAY.

Kids Canes Challenge
At the end of today’s article, I mentioned Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy. Do you know who they are? And…..what is a broadcaster?

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