The point is a term in
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply 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 hock ...
to indicate a position inside the opposition's
blue line along the edges of the rink.
Description
A
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
in the opponent's end zone at the junction of the
blue line with the boards is said to be at the point. Usually the players at the two points are the
defencemen
Defence or defense (in American English) 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 (the latter a reference to ...
. On the
power play
Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to:
Sports
* Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games
* Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket
* Power play (cur ...
the players playing at these positions are always known as the points, though one of the positions is sometimes played by a forward.
The point's responsibilities include attempting to keep the puck in the offensive zone when the defensive team attempts to clear (see also
Offside (ice hockey)
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 pla ...
), receiving a pass from the forwards to allow the play to reset, and taking
slapshot
A slapshot (also spelled as slap shot) in ice hockey is a powerful shot. Its advantage is as a high-speed shot that can be taken from long distance; the disadvantage is the time to set it up as well as its low accuracy.
It has four stages whi ...
s at the goal, hoping to score, create a rebound or a deflection. On the power play, one of the players playing the point is typically the "quarterback" - that is, the one who controls (through passing) where the puck goes, and also takes many shots.
Given the difficulty of scoring directly from the point due to the distance to the goal, goals scored from the point are typically either on screens, or are tipped goals.
Point and cover point
In the early years of ice hockey, the two defencemen were known as the "point" and "cover-point" players. The term ''the point'' may have been derived from that early terminology. The point played further back, while the cover-point was allowed more latitude to roam forward.
References
*
*
;Notes
Ice hockey terminology
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