On a regular basis in hockey you’ll hear of a player getting a misconduct penalty for 10 minutes. But sometimes they come back into the game and sometimes they don’t — and why doesn’t the other team get a power play during those 10 minutes? It can be genuinely confusing.
There are actually three different types of serious penalties beyond the standard 2-minute minor, and they work very differently from each other.
The short version: a misconduct is 10 minutes with no ejection and no power play. A game misconduct means the player is thrown out for the rest of the game, but still no power play. A match penalty is the most serious — the player is ejected AND the team is shorthanded for 5 minutes.
Here’s how they compare at a glance:
| Type | Duration | Ejected? | Power Play for Other Team? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misconduct | 10 min | No | No |
| Game Misconduct | Rest of game | Yes | No (substitution allowed) |
| Match Penalty | 5 min + rest of game | Yes | Yes (5-minute major) |
Let’s go through each one, because the differences between them are actually pretty important to understand.
What Is a Misconduct Penalty in Hockey?
A misconduct penalty is a 10-minute penalty where the player must leave the ice for the full duration — but, unlike other penalties, the team is allowed to substitute another player in their place. The game continues 5-on-5. No penalty kill. No power play. Just keep playing as normal.
The player who gets the misconduct must leave the ice and serve the full 10 minutes off the bench — usually in the penalty box, though depending on timing and circumstances they may complete it in the dressing room. He’s not allowed back until the first whistle after that time expires — he can’t jump back into a live play the second the clock hits zero.
Misconducts are usually given not for a specific type of physical infraction, but for a player who is behaving in an unsportsmanlike way. In plain terms: they’re probably saying something they shouldn’t be saying to the official, or they’re way over the line in how they’re interacting with the opposing team. The referee is essentially sending them to cool off.
The Two-and-Ten — The Most Misunderstood Call in Hockey
The most common version of the misconduct that you’ll see called is the two-and-ten: a 2-minute minor penalty and a 10-minute misconduct given at the same time on the same play.
Here’s what happens: the player gets 2 minutes for the original infraction (roughing, slashing, whatever it was) plus 10 minutes for going overboard in his reaction to it. The player goes to the dressing room to serve the 10-minute misconduct, and a different player from his team — the coach’s choice — goes to the penalty box to serve the 2-minute minor.
The 2-minute minor DOES create a power play. The 10-minute misconduct does NOT. That’s the part that trips people up. The other team gets their power play on the minor, and if they score during those 2 minutes, the minor is over. But the 10-minute misconduct must be served in full regardless.
So you’ll see the team playing shorthanded for 2 minutes, then back to 5-on-5 — but the original player still hasn’t come back yet. He’s still serving the rest of the 10.
Brad Marchand is the textbook example of a player who sees two-and-tens regularly — a talented player who also has a habit of running his mouth or pushing the line with officials. The minor ends, the power play is over, but Marchand is still off the ice serving the misconduct while his team plays on without him.
What Is a Game Misconduct in Hockey?
A game misconduct is a 10-minute penalty plus an automatic ejection — the player is done for the night. He goes to the dressing room and doesn’t come back. The team can substitute another player, so they’re not shorthanded, but that player is gone.
Any player receiving a game misconduct will have the play reviewed by the league, which may lead to further discipline — a fine or suspension.
What Triggers an Automatic Game Misconduct?
This is the part no competitor explains clearly. Several situations result in an automatic game misconduct regardless of what the referee feels like doing:
- Two misconduct penalties in the same game — accumulate two misconducts and you’re automatically out
- Three major penalties in the same game — three majors and you’re done
- Being the second fighting instigator in the same game — if you start a second fight in the same game, you’re gone automatically (Rule 20.4)
- Boarding assessed as a major — when boarding is judged severe enough to warrant a major penalty, a game misconduct typically follows
- Checking from behind assessed as a major — same principle; the severity of the infraction determines whether the game misconduct is attached
One additional situation worth knowing: any major penalty called in the final 5 minutes of regulation or overtime is automatically reviewed by the league and can lead to additional discipline. It’s not automatically a game misconduct — but it will get scrutinized more closely than the same infraction earlier in the game.
Accumulation and Playoff Escalation
Players who accumulate multiple game misconducts in a season can receive automatic suspensions. The general threshold is 3 game misconducts in a regular season or 2 in the playoffs from certain categories of infractions — charging, elbowing, kneeing, head-butting, inciting opponents, and obscene gestures, among others. Hit that number and you’re sitting out a game automatically, with more games possible depending on what you did.
Not all game misconducts count the same way toward this threshold. It depends on what type of infraction triggered it, which is defined in the NHL rulebook.
Game misconducts are reviewed by the league and may result in fines or suspensions. There’s no flat dollar amount tied to a game misconduct — fines under the CBA are based on a percentage of the player’s daily salary.
Nazem Kadri is a good example of how this plays out in real life. In the 2021 playoffs he was assessed a major penalty for a dangerous hit, which came with an automatic game misconduct — he was done for the night while his team served a five-minute power play. The league reviewed the incident before he could play again, and he ended up suspended. That’s the full chain in action.
Is a Game Misconduct a Major Penalty?
No — a game misconduct is not itself a major penalty. However, in many cases when a player receives a major penalty, a 10-minute game misconduct is also attached to it. That’s why a major penalty often results in both a 5-minute shorthanded situation AND an ejection — the major creates the power play, and the game misconduct removes the player from the game. Whether the game misconduct is automatic depends on the specific infraction.
The game misconduct on its own creates no power play at all.
What Is a Match Penalty?
The match penalty is the most serious call a referee can make in the game.
A game misconduct is for bad behavior. A match penalty is for something worse: deliberate intent to injure, or recklessly endangering another player. That’s the line that separates the two. If the referee judges that a player was trying to hurt someone — or was so reckless that injury was the foreseeable outcome — that’s a match penalty.
Here’s what happens when one is called:
- The penalized team is shorthanded for 5 full minutes — a 5-minute major power play for the other team. Unlike a standard 2-minute minor, this power play does NOT end if the other team scores. The full 5 minutes is served no matter what.
- The player is ejected from the game immediately.
- The incident is automatically reviewed by the Department of Player Safety (DOPS) before the player can play again.
Match penalty-level infractions include spearing, butt-ending, head-butting, and kneeing. These are plays with no place in the game regardless of how physical the sport gets.
Tom Wilson has been through this process multiple times over his career. He’s a physical player who has periodically crossed the line into match penalty territory — ejected from the game, sent to the DOPS, and handed a suspension before he could suit up again. Watch for his name the next time a controversial hit gets called in the playoffs.
DOPS considers several factors in their review: was the act reckless or intentional? Did the opponent get injured? What does the player’s disciplinary history look like? The severity of the outcome matters — an identical hit that injures someone will be treated more seriously than one that doesn’t.
What Happened to the Gross Misconduct?
You might have heard this term — especially if you grew up watching older games or you coach or watch minor hockey — and wondered where it went.
The gross misconduct was eliminated from the NHL rulebook. It no longer exists at the NHL level.
It does still exist in Canadian minor hockey and in IIHF international play, where the penalty timing is slightly different (20 minutes for a game misconduct, 25 minutes for a match penalty). So if you’re at your kid’s game or watching an international tournament and you hear the ref call a gross misconduct, that’s what it is. It just doesn’t happen in the NHL anymore.
Can Coaches and Team Staff Get Misconducts?
Yes — and this is one of those things fans see but don’t fully understand.
A coach, manager, or trainer can receive a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior, which results in a 2-minute minor penalty against their team. That’s the one you’ll see fairly regularly.
Getting a coach completely ejected from an NHL game is much rarer. It’s nothing like baseball, where managers get thrown out on a fairly regular basis. In hockey, it takes something pretty significant for a coach to actually get kicked out. I’m having a hard time remembering seeing it happen. It’s a rare event.
When it does happen at the NHL level, a coach or bench staff member can be suspended for the balance of the game. Fines can reach up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $15,000 for subsequent violations within 12 months, depending on the circumstances. The team can also be fined $1,000 per player accumulation suspension.
One more rule worth knowing: the third-man-in rule. Any player who enters an altercation that’s already happening between two other players receives an automatic game misconduct. It’s designed to prevent pile-ons and keep fights contained to the two willing participants.
What Happens When a Goalie Gets a Misconduct?
This is the one exception to the whole system.
When a goalie receives a misconduct penalty, they are not required to leave the game. They stay in the net and keep stopping pucks. The penalty minutes get added to their stats, but they don’t sit. It’s seen as too harsh a penalty to pull the goalie — a team shouldn’t lose their last line of defense over a behavioral penalty.
However, if a goalie receives a game misconduct, they do have to leave. The backup comes in. The severity of a game misconduct — which usually involves injury to another player or serious abuse of officials — is deemed serious enough to pull the goalie even at that cost. It’s rare, but it happens.
What to watch for: the next time a goalie starts chirping at a referee after a goal he thinks shouldn’t have counted, that’s the kind of thing that can escalate into a misconduct. The goalie gets away with a lot because the rules protect them — but there’s still a line.
Key Takeaways
- A misconduct is 10 minutes with no ejection and no power play — the player serves the time off the bench while the game continues 5-on-5
- The two-and-ten is the most common form: a 2-minute minor (which creates a power play) combined with a 10-minute misconduct (which does not)
- A game misconduct ejects the player for the rest of the game but still creates no power play — the team substitutes immediately
- Automatic game misconducts are triggered by: two misconducts in one game, three majors, or being the second fighting instigator — boarding and checking from behind assessed as majors also typically result in one
- A match penalty requires deliberate intent to injure — creates a 5-minute power play that doesn’t end on a goal, plus automatic DOPS review
- Coaches and staff can get misconducts too — fines start at $10,000, and the third-man-in rule gives automatic game misconducts to players who jump into existing fights
- Goalies are exempt from leaving for a regular misconduct but must leave for a game misconduct
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a misconduct and a game misconduct?
A misconduct is 10 minutes — the player sits, the team plays 5-on-5, and the player comes back when it’s done. A game misconduct is recorded as a 10-minute penalty but includes an immediate ejection — the player is done for the night and doesn’t return.
Does a misconduct result in a power play?
No. Neither a misconduct nor a game misconduct creates a power play. The team substitutes immediately and play continues at full strength. Only if a minor or major penalty accompanies the misconduct does a power play result.
What is a two-and-ten in hockey?
A two-and-ten is when a player receives a 2-minute minor penalty and a 10-minute misconduct on the same play. The 2-minute minor creates a power play (served by a different teammate). The 10-minute misconduct does not create a power play — the original player sits in the dressing room for the full 10 minutes.
What is a match penalty in hockey?
A match penalty is called when a referee judges that a player deliberately intended to injure an opponent, or was so reckless that injury was the foreseeable result. It results in a 5-minute power play (which continues even if the other team scores), an ejection, and an automatic review by the Department of Player Safety.
Can a player get both a misconduct and a game misconduct?
Yes — on the same play, even. A player can receive a misconduct and a game misconduct together. What they cannot do is receive two game misconducts in one game, because the first one ejects them and ends their night.
What happens if you get a game misconduct at the end of a game?
In terms of that game, nothing significant — the penalty doesn’t carry over to the next game. However, it will be reviewed by the league and could lead to a suspension, especially if it’s the player’s third qualifying misconduct of the season.
