NHL overtime is one of the more entertaining game scenarios in sports. With the excitement of the league's extra period rules, fans are treated to a thrilling finish that always determines a winner.
What Is NHL Overtime?
In 1921, the NHL introduced overtime with an extra 20-minute period of sudden-death, 5-on-5 hockey to decide games. OT was reduced to 10 minutes in 1927 and to five minutes in 1983.
Overtime rules proceeded to undergo various changes, including the complete elimination of regular-season OT in 1942. Even with the multiple iterations of overtime, regular-season games were allowed to end in ties until 2005, when the league introduced the penalty shootout.
In 1999, the NHL switched the overtime format to 4-on-4 play over a five-minute extra period. In 2015, the league moved to a 3-on-3, five-minute OT to decrease the number of shootouts.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, games tied after regulation are also decided by overtime. However, 20-minute periods of sudden-death hockey are played until a winning goal is scored.
NHL Regular Season Overtime Rules
An NHL regular-season game tied after the regulation 60 minutes (over three 20-minute periods) is decided by overtime. An extra period of five minutes is played, but instead of the usual five-player lineups (five on five), each team has two fewer skaters on the ice for 3-on-3 action.
The team that scores first in OT wins the game. If a player commits a penalty, the opposing club gets to add a skater and play four-on-three for at least two minutes.
If the score remains tied after the five-minute overtime, the game shifts to a penalty shootout.
In a shootout, each team sends three penalty takers to attempt to score 1-on-1 against the opposing team's goaltender. The team with the most shootout goals wins. If the shootout is tied after the initial three rounds, it progresses with additional rounds of penalty takers until a winner is determined.
Video review can be used to enforce shootout rules and confirm various infractions such as a goalkeeper throwing a stick to prevent a goal and a shooter performing an illegal spin-o-rama move.
Each club receives one point in the standings when a game goes to overtime. The victorious team is awarded an additional point for the OT win.
NHL Playoff Overtime Rules
The nail-biting suspense of NHL postseason overtime has long been the characteristic that makes the Stanley Cup playoffs so compelling.
Unlike the regular-season OT rules, postseason games tied after the regulation 60 minutes are decided by the very next goal with the usual 5-on-5 action. Overtime periods comprise 20 minutes of sudden-death hockey. A goal-less initial OT is followed by additional 20-minute periods until a puck ends up in a net and ends the contest.
Playoff overtimes that continue with multiple periods often become battles of attrition. Shifts, or the time skaters spend on the ice, are reduced to keep players as fresh as possible. And as the game trudges on, head coaches will give more ice time to their best offensive players in hopes of producing the game-winning goal.
As is the case in any NHL game, strong goaltender play is crucial in OT. A red-hot goalie who makes save after save to keep the score tied is often the major factor for a team's overtime victory.
Differences Between NHL Overtime and Other Leagues
The American Hockey League (AHL), which is regarded as the primary developmental league for the NHL, has the same overtime rules as the NHL. A five-minute, 3-on-3 OT period and, if necessary, a penalty shootout decide regular-season games. In the Calder Cup playoffs, overtime consists of 20-minute periods of 5-on-5 hockey until a winning goal is scored.
During the regular season, the American Hockey League plays a five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime period following games tied after regulation. If neither team scores, the game advances to a shootout, with each team getting three attempts. If the score remains tied, the shootout progresses to sudden-death rounds until a winner is determined.
In NCAA regular-season hockey, overtime games are decided by five minutes of sudden-death hockey in 3-on-3 action. Depending on the conference, OTs can end in ties or progress with penalty shootouts to determine a winner.
In the NCAA tournament, overtime mirrors the OT rules of the NHL playoffs. Twenty-minute periods of 5-on-5 hockey are played until a deciding goal is scored. Like the NHL, no shootouts are held.
In international hockey, such as the Olympics, tied games at the end of regulation in a tournament's medal round continue with a five-minute, sudden-death overtime. Gold medal matches tied after regulation resume with a 20-minute extra period that ends with the next goal.
If overtime games are still knotted, a winner is decided by penalty shootout.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NHL Overtime Rules Explained.
