What does the term “power play” refer to in hockey?

The term "power play" in hockey specifically refers to a situation where one team has a numerical advantage on the ice due to a penalty incurred by an opposing player. When a player is assessed a penalty, they must serve time in the penalty box, which leaves their team short-handed, effectively creating an opportunity for the opposing team to have more players on the ice. This numerical advantage allows the team on the power play to better position themselves for scoring opportunities, as they can approach the game with more offensive players while the penalties limit the defending team’s capacity to respond.

In contrast, the other choices do not accurately capture the essence of what a power play entails. The notion of a type of offensive play with no defenders is misleading, as while a power play does reduce the number of defenders, there are always players on the ice trying to defend. The idea that it is a strategy to waste time does not align with the goal-oriented nature of a power play, which seeks to score rather than stall the game. Lastly, initiating a face-off is unrelated to the concept of a power play and instead denotes a method to restart play after stoppages. Thus, understanding the term "power play" is vital for grasping one of the fundamental strategies in hockey