NHL minor penalties: when does a power-play goal end one?
Short-handed status and the penalty type matter before a player returns.
A minor normally costs two minutes
NHL Rule 16.1 sends a player other than the goalkeeper off for two minutes, with no substitute during that penalty. This can put their team below the opponent's numerical strength.
A penalty label does not always tell you the strength on the ice by itself. Coincidental penalties can leave neither team short-handed relative to the other.
The goal must meet the release conditions
Under Rule 16.2, an opponent's goal can end a minor or bench minor when the scored-against team is short-handed because of that penalty. The qualifying penalty with the least time left terminates, subject to the coincidental-penalty provisions.
A hypothetical opponent scoring during a single qualifying minor can restore equal strength before the two minutes expire. Do not assume every goal ends every type of penalty, or clears several penalties at once.
A penalty-shot goal is different
Rule 16.2 explicitly says a goal on a penalty shot does not release the penalised player under this automatic-termination rule. A penalty-shot finish and an ordinary power-play goal are separate situations.
On ScoreZaap, read the confirmed goal, penalty clock and player-strength context together. The team score alone is not enough to decide who returns from the penalty bench. This guide describes the retrieved NHLrule, not a ruling on an unseen incident.