The NHL Game

Games in the NHL are played on a rectangular sheet of ice with rounded corners measuring 25.91 by 60.92 meters (85 by 200 feet). The ice is enclosed by heavy wooden walls roughly 3 ½ feet tall. Several lines divide the rink into zones and help the officials determine off-sides, icing calls, and goals. The red line, or center line, divides the rink in half and is used in combination with the goal line to determine icing calls. Two blue lines define the attacking zones and are used in determining off-sides. The goal lines are thin red lines that run the width of the rink and are important in judging whether a goal has been scored.

Regular Season Game

An NHL regular season game is played over 60 minutes, divided into three 20 minute periods, separated by two 15 minute intermissions. If the score is tied after 60 minutes, or “regulation time”, the two teams play a 5 minute overtime period. The overtime is played with one less skater and is “sudden death” – that is, the game ends immediately if one team scores. The winning team is awarded two points in the standings, and the loser gets one point.

If neither team scores in overtime, the game goes to a “shootout”. Each team designates three shooters and the teams take turns with one of the shooters trying to score on the opposing goaltender. If both teams have the same number of goals, the shootout continues, with each team taking an equal number of shots until one team scores without an answering score. At the end of the shootout, the team with the most goals is deemed the game winner and is awarded two points in the standings with the losing team getting one point.

NHL Playoffs Game

In the NHL playoffs, if the game is tied at the end of regulation time, the teams take a 15 minute intermission and continue to play 20 minute sudden death periods until someone scores. The overtime/intermission format continues until a winner is determined. Once a team scores in overtime, the game ends immediately, and if that overtime period comes in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the goal scorer has accomplished the most revered feat in hockey – to score the Cup winning goal in overtime.