I know that it is a penalty shot if you conceal/cover/fall on the puck while it's in the crease ("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. For infringement of this rule, play shall immediately be stopped and a Penalty shot shall be ordered against the offending team), but my question is, how does it work when the puck is partially in the crease and partially outside of it? Assume a small part of the puck is on the red line that makes up the border of the crease and that most of it is on the white ice outside.

In other words, must the ENTIRE puck be within the confines of the crease for the rule to apply, or can just part of it be in the crease?


Other rulings (notably also including the crease, rule 78-b disallowing attackers from entering the crease prior to the puck and 57-a the definition of a goal being scored) are based on the principle of "any bit in counts as in".

For the former, any part of a skate or stick being inside the crease means the player is in the crease, even if the majority is outside. For the latter, any part of the puck remaining on or above the line means a goal has not yet been scored, and is therefore still in play.

This would mean that any part of the puck being on or above the crease (either the red border or the blue interior) will result in the puck being considered inside the crease, even if the majority is outside of the crease.

For practical purposes, unless it is very clear that some part of the puck was inside the crease at the moment the violation of a rule began, officials may err on the side of caution, and decline to give a penalty shot under this rule.

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