They’re fleeting, thrilling and relatively rare, though the Kraken have seen two in the past week. Nothing electrifies an NHL crowd like a penalty shot.
Brandon Tanev’s unsuccessful bid against St. Louis Blues goaltender Thomas Greiss on Tuesday night was the NHL’s 1,864th penalty shot over 105 seasons — an average of less than 18, with several variables. Tanev is in good company, as skaters score about one-third of the time.
According to NHL records, the first penalty shot was taken by the Montreal Canadiens’ Armand Mondou on Nov. 10, 1934. He was stopped by Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender George Hainsworth.
Penalty shots are awarded when a player crosses his own blue line on a breakaway and is denied a “reasonable” scoring chance due to a foul from behind. It can be in the neutral zone or attacking zone.
He can get a shot off and still be awarded a penalty shot if he was significantly hindered. The player who was interfered with usually takes the shot. The puck must be kept in motion toward the opponent’s goal line, and once it’s unleashed the play is considered complete.
Kraken goaltender Martin Jones has stopped all four penalty shots he’s faced in his career, including one this season. In the third game of 2022-23, Jones turned aside the Vegas Golden Knights’ Chandler Stephenson. All four penalty shots were awarded because of fouls from behind.
“It can be a big momentum swing, one way or another,” Jones said. “That’s my job. That’s kind of what I signed up for. Those are the moments where I can make a difference in the game.”
It’s rarer, but a penalty shot can also be awarded if a goalie removes his mask on a breakaway or intentionally dislodges the net. Also if a skater — not the goaltender — smothers the puck in the goal crease. In that case, the captain of the other, “nonoffending” team selects one of the players on the ice at the time of the incident to take the penalty shot.
“No defending player, except the goalkeeper, will be permitted to fall on the puck, hold the puck, pick up the puck, or gather the puck into the body or hands when the puck is within the goal crease,” the rule book reads.
The Kraken don’t have a captain, but rather four alternate captains. Presumably that choice would be made by designation or committee.
There are no rebound goals or spin-o-rama moves allowed on penalty shots. Lacrosse-style goals (when the puck is lifted onto a player’s stick and shot into the top of the net) are allowed, provided the puck stays below the shoulders. Off the goal post or cross bar is fine.
In those one-on-one scenarios, Jones said shooters’ creativity “has definitely been taken up a level.” He watches a lot of hockey and mentally logs favorite moves.
Goaltenders may be substituted for penalty shots, or thrown in cold. However they must remain in the game until the next stoppage in play. The goalie has to remain in his crease until the shooter picks up the puck at center ice. Throwing his stick is a no-no — dislodging the net (again?) is a bigger no-no.
Penalty shots also serve as a punishment for the brash and unusual. Thrown objects, illegal sticks and substitutions, and interference from teammates on the bench are all covered, but that’s far into the weeds on this topic.
If the offending motion would usually be a minor penalty, the penalty shot is in place of that and no one heads to the penalty box. If it’s a double-minor or major — again, rare — additional discipline could result.
The Kraken have had five penalty shots — two for, three against — in their roughly season and a half of NHL play. Three have come this season, before the team has headed to a single shootout.
Shootouts and penalty shots are similar structurally but different functionally.
“In a shootout you have three chances at it, and obviously it’s for an extra point. During regulation it can obviously influence the outcome of the game a little bit more,” Jones said. “Your mindset really stays the same. It’s really the same play.
“These guys are pretty skilled, and you just try and stay patient and read the play as best you can.”
Alex Wennberg is the only Kraken player who has scored on a penalty shot in his career, in 2016 when he was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Five other shooters have at least one attempt.
Jones is watching a little of everything as the shooter approaches on a penalty shot or in the shootout.
“The angle they’re coming in on, their body position, where they have the puck relative to their body,” Jones said. “If it’s in front of them, if it’s beside them from a shooting position. There’s a lot of different things you try and read. As they get in closer you’re just trying to read the blade of the stick and track the puck.”
Both penalty shots awarded to the Kraken have happened at home. Jared McCann squared off against Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and tried to squeeze a shot through low blocker side, but Fleury closed the gap.
Two minutes into the second period Dec. 15 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Stefan Noesen was tugged at by Kraken defender Adam Larsson on a breakaway. Noesen beat Philipp Grubauer for the eventual game-winning goal. The other penalty-shot goal against was in January, when St. Louis’ Colton Parayko solved Joey Daccord. The Kraken were already trailing 3-0 in an eventual 5-0 loss.
Now back to the shootouts. Grubauer was in net for all four last season, of which the Kraken won three. Ryan Donato went out all four times and scored twice. Joonas Donskoi, who hasn’t played this season, also scored two shootout goals.
The Kraken have settled matters in overtime seven times this season. For now, the penalty-shot flurry is the only preview of what a shootout would look like — and Jones’ scouting report based on facing his teammates in practice.
“Maybe Matty Beniers. Eberle’s pretty good on breakaways,” the first-year Kraken goaltender said. “I’ll go with those two.”