In ice hockey, the best coaches have to know how to coach a penalty kill. There are a number of team penalties that can make a player spend time in the penalty box. Some of these infractions include hooking, tripping, fighting and interference.

The non-offending team has the advantage. They have one more person on the ice trying to make a goal. During this penalty time, which is usually 2 minutes, but can be as much as 4, 5, or 10 minutes, the players switch into "frenzy" mode, with the non-offending team attacking as aggressively as possible to score, and the penalized team desperately trying to prevent that from happening.

The fastest players are sent out on the ice, comparable to the "special teams" in football. The team on the offense is going to try to keep the puck in the other team's territory, all the while looking for an opportunity to score. Knowing that one of their teammates will be open, their intention will be to get the puck to someone with an open path to the goal.

The defense will be trying to get in positions that will

1. hinder shot attempts
2. use as much time as possible, and
3. score their own short-handed goal, which can be quite an ego deflater to the opposing team.

In penalty play for a minor penalty, the offending player must stay in the box for the entire two minutes unless the opposing team scores a goal, which then enables the player to return to the ice immediately. Certainly, this is not how a team wants to regain full strength. The whole idea is to kill the penalty.

Since the 1967-68 season, when penalty play statistics were first recorded, the worst penalty killing team has been the 1979-80 Los Angeles Kings with 67.7%. Even though they placed second that year in the Norris Division, they were 33 points behind the division winner, the Montreal Canadiens. The most penalty minutes handed out in a single game was 419 minutes in a March 5, 2004 game between the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers.http://en.allexperts.com/e/p/pe/penalty_(ice_hockey).htm#hd5 Since there has never been an NHL game with no penalties, the coaches know that a power play will probably occur in any given game, and they are keenly aware that power play goals can make the difference between winning or losing.

Coaches vary as to their favorite power play and penalty killing strategies. The players' strong points are instrumental in deciding what defense should be used in penalty-kill situations. Naturally, being aware of the opponents' tendencies provides coaches with valuable information to prepare for upcoming games.

Some teams tend to focus on their best goal shooter during power plays, trying to get the puck to him as often as possible while clearing a lane for a shot at the net. Some teams like to stay on the peripheral part of the rink, passing the puck among them, while one player moves closer to the front of the net for rebound shooting and hindering the goal tender's line of vision.

To be successful, no matter what penalty kill strategy is used, the players on the ice must stay in their positions and do their assigned jobs. Each man should not wander more than 6 or 7 feet from his designated spot unless there is a real possibility of getting control of the puck and speed skating into the opponent's zone, or being able to clear the puck.

The power killing team can't be assessed a penalty for icing during the short-handed play, so shooting the puck as far into their opponent's zone as possible is a great time killer. And since the players must leave the zone, and the puck has to cross the blue line before the offensive players can reenter and assume their power play positions, more time ticks away.http://www.hockeyschoolonline.com/game_theory_penaltykill.htm

Probably the two most used conventional penalty kill plays are the diamond defense or the box defense.

The box defense requires that the players are in a square formation with the wings away from the goal, and the defense men closer to the goal. This forces the power play team to remain on the peripheral part of the playing area. This type of defense also limits the angles available to the offense for shooting. The power play team will usually pass among themselves until they have broken down the box by getting one of the defensive players out of his area. The key to this defense is having each player intent on getting back to his position immediately following being drawn out. Once the box is compromised, the offense can start moving players inside the box, allowing for a short pass from the outside, right to the stick of the player inside, for a quick goal.http://forums.internationalhockey.net/showthread.php?t=6825

The diamond defense has the wings about midway between the goal and the blue line, one to each side. One defense man takes the center ice position about 6 feet from the blue line and the other takes the center ice position in front of the goal. The diamond requires more movement than the box, but still puts emphasis on each player maintaining his assigned position. This type of defense is used against the umbrella power play.

In the umbrella power play, the best shooter is positioned mid ice in front of the blue line. The "point position" will follow the puck while the other three players readjust their own positions based on the location of the puck. The idea is to make sure that there is no straight shot into the goal. But being in the correct formation at all times is critical, otherwise, the offense can slip a player into the diamond, and again set themselves up for a quick pass, and a fast goal.http://www.hockeycoachtocoach.com/SamplePractices/BantamPracticePlansIndex/DiamondPenaltyKill/tabid/1915/Default.aspx

There are many other things that coaches need to emphasize to their players to kill the penalties. If the puck is awarded to the power play team in their own zone, they will be bringing the puck up the ice to try to score. Emphasize to your players to be patient and wait for the puck handler. Impede his forward advancement and try to get him angled towards the boards. This will cause him to have to pass the puck to a more open player and there's a chance that it will be a bad pass It's important to throw his concentration off from trying to make a break-away goal to having to find the open player.

Face-offs will eat time off the clock. If the defensive team can tie up the puck long enough to cause a face-off, then it will allow seconds to tick off. In the face-off situation, it's vital that your team gets the puck and sends it down-ice. The play should then move into their zone. This is where the penalty kill team must try to get control of the puck. If not, they should get back to their defensive positions quickly.

Backchecking should play an important role in power kill play. The defending player should be right on the puck handler's back as the puck is being returned up the ice. This player should be adept at stealing the puck or regaining control of a loose puck to keep it out of his zone.

Coaches should instill in their players the need to keep a constant eye on the puck. They should never be looking at anything other than where the puck is and how the other team is setting up. The player should know where his teammates are going to be. Practice is the only way that a team and individual players will be able to prepare properly for the penalty kill play. If a defending player gains control of the puck and wants to pass it to another teammate, he won't have time to look around. His teammate must be where he thinks he will be.http://www.firstbasesports.com/hockey_glossary.html