Prior to 1956 in the NHL, a player taking a penalty was required to ‘do’ his time regardless of how many goals the opposing team scored while the player was in the box.

Teams of the 1940’s and 1950’s, such as the Montreal Canadians and Detroit Red Wings loved the power play. They would send out players like Maurice “The Rocket” Richard and Gordie Howe and they would excel on the power play, scoring many times before the penalty was over.

The league thought this to be unfair and mandated that the minor penalty expire if the opposing team scores a goal in the duration.

Maurice Richard