from Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated,

The exact dimensions vary from rink to rink, but each penalty box functions the same. On the home side, referees conduct video reviews with oversized headsets and undersized tablets that are stored amid a maze of wires. On the visitors' end, spare pucks are chilled inside a minifreezer set to around 10° F. Both boxes are furnished with water bottles, athletic tape, ice bags and a metal bench, plus stacks of towels that serve particular use. “God, these guys are hygienically challenged,” one veteran NHL off-ice official laments. “All they want to do is spit.”

From full-throated brawls to controversial calls, the penalty box has played host to many memorable scenes in the history of hockey; it also cameoed in the April 15, 1978, episode of Saturday Night Live, in which a gritty Quebecker played by host Michael Sarrazin invites an opponent (Dan Aykroyd) to smoke pot while serving fighting majors—a hot-boxed box.

The spotlight is never brighter than during the Stanley Cup playoffs, when a single visit can tilt an entire series. Zebras swallowing whistles sounds like PETA’s worst nightmare, but laissez-faire playoff refereeing is more myth than fact: In 11 of 12 completed postseasons since the 2004–05 lockout, the rate of minor penalties per game reliably increased compared with the regular season average.

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