Basic Rules of NHL Ice Hockey Explained For New Players & Fans
Like many other sports, hockey rules are essential for ensuring fair play and preventing unnecessary injuries. There are many rules and people in place to ensure that ice hockey is a fair and safe sport while also retaining the best aspects of the game intact.
In an effort to provide a simplified explanation, here’s a quick run down. To win a game of ice hockey your team has to score more goals than the opposing team at the end of three periods with each period being 20 minutes. Players get penalties for violating a rule (typically that means being sent to the penalty box for two minutes). Five skaters and one goalie per team on the ice, so six players on the ice when at full strength (no penalties are being served). Pass the pack to one another to outsmart the opposing team and shoot to score.
There are many different types of ice hockey rules that constitute the game with different penalties associated based on the rule that was violated. In this article, we will unpack the many rules and details of ice hockey to better understand and evaluate the game.
Table of Contents
The Basic Rules of Hockey
A hockey team must always have six skaters on the ice and typically has a total of 16-24 players on their roster depending on team philosophy and league size. The six skaters include one goaltender who is protecting the net and preventing the opposing team from scoring and the five remaining skaters are comprised of three forwards (left-wing, center, and right-wing) and two defensemen.
Typically, a shift, the time a group of players is on the ice, will last 1-2 minutes, but there are no specific rules to managing players’ ice time; this depends on the team or coaches’ philosophy of play. Oftentimes the better players or best players will receive the most ice time because they give the team the best chance to receive positive opportunities and most importantly win the game.
A hockey goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line, past the goaltender, and into the net. Although it seems simple, many aspects must come together to score a goal in ice hockey.
Whether it is a great wrist or slapshot, tip-in, or backhand, it takes a team effort to be granted a favorable goal-scoring opportunity. An assist in hockey is awarded to the previous two players that passed to the goal scorer. So in ice hockey, secondary assists also fully count as a regular assist. This emphasizes how hockey truly is a team sport.
How do Ice Markings work?
On the surface of the ice include several color-coded lines that help determine any of the rules of the game. For example, a face-off, where two players fight for possession of a dropped puck from the referee takes place at a face-off dot in which there are eight on the ice hockey rink.
Two blue lines make up the offensive and defensive zone and are where offsides are determined. The offensive and defensive zone are determined by which side the team is playing on, which changes each period. The home team is facing one side twice in a game, for the first and third period, and faces the opposite direction for the second period, so teams switch sides a total of three times each game.
Offsides occurs when an offensive player advances across the blue line into the opposing teams defensive zone before the puck crosses the blue line, which is usually brought across by a teammate or is dumped in and after which everyone on offense quickly pursues the puck. So the puck must cross the blue line first. This rule ensures that players don’t camp out in the opposing zone and have an unfair advantage in scoring a goal.
Offsides is not a penalty, but rather a whistle that stops play and is followed up by a face-off at one of the four nearest face-off dots in the neutral zone (the middle space of the ice between the two blue lines). This can be confusing to explain on ‘paper’, so a deeper explanation of offsides with visuals can be found here.
A goal crease is another marking on the ice surrounding the goalposts and net that makes sure players don’t get too close to the goalie to either score or hit the goaltender. A goal will be called back if an opposing player interferes with the goalie leading to a goal being scored in the goal crease.
What Hockey Equipment Needs to be Worn?
Each hockey player must wear a helmet with a face-protecting mask. Other required equipment includes shin guards, gloves, skates, hockey sticks, and additional pads and equipment for goalies. Players also wear shoulder pads that generally protect the chest and upper back as well. Referees will examine players before the start of the game to ensure that each player is properly protected.
Periods and Timing in Ice Hockey
There are three periods of play in a game that are usually 20 minutes each with stoppages due to whistles or penalties, etc. Most penalties are two minutes long, but can sometimes be up to 4-5 minutes depending on the circumstances which we will review momentarily.
Another interesting rule in hockey is pulling the goalie. This most often occurs towards the end of a hockey game when the losing team is trying to increase their chances of scoring by acquiring an “extra”, or 6th skater. The team will still have a total of six players on the ice, but now they will have an extra attacker. However, it comes at the risk of leaving the net open at the other end of the ice. It’s usually a last ditch effort to tie the game when there is only two or three minutes left.
The Power Play
A power play occurs when the other team gets a penalty which forces them to be down to four skaters and one goalie versus five skaters and a goalie. Commonly 5 vs 4 skaters between teams will happen which is a major advantage for the team not penalized, hence the name power play.
Occasionally, a team can incur multiple penalties, which leads to a 5 vs 3 power play. This is significantly adverse for the penalized team because possession will be on their end for most of the allotted penalty time.
What is Stick Checking?
A common penalty in ice hockey is when a player uses his/her stick as a means of contact or for self-defense. Getting stick checked can hurt or injure a player because the opposing player forcefully grabs the stick and hits you. The penalty duration for stick checking is two minutes.
Tripping Penalties
Another common penalty is when one player uses their skate or stick to make the other player fall. This often happens when a defenseman is beaten and needs to slow down the opposing player. Like stick checking, this penalty is two minutes.
Delay of Game
A delay of the game occurs when an ice hockey player shoots the puck out of play and into the crowd from their own defensive zone. It’s often seen as desperate way to clear the puck out of the defensive zone, which leads to stoppage in play. Hence why it’s called a delay of game. This penalty is two minutes as well.
Additionally, fans can get hurt by an unexpected flying puck which has unfortunately happened many times during NHL games, but larger nets around both scoring ends has helped to limit this from happening.
Roughing Violations
Roughing is an interesting penalty because the amount of penalty time depends on the specific action between players. A dirty hit into the boards, such as cross checking them from behind and causing a player to go face first in the boards, can lead to an ejection of that player for the rest of the game or for a 4–5 minute penalty. Unnecessary contact also falls under the roughing umbrella of violations; this can include hitting the goalie when trying to score or trying to hit an opposing player when they are unaware or they are not near the puck.
What Does High Sticking Mean?
High sticking is another very interesting violation of the rules. High sticking occurs when one player hits another player in the face with the stick either on purpose or by accident. This is generally a two minute penalty. However, if the player hit with the high stick has any blood drawn, then the penalty can be enforced up to four minutes.
Is Fighting Allowed or Not?
Unlike many other professional sports, fighting is allowed in NHL hockey. If two players mutually agree to fight, then they are permitted to until one player falls onto the ice. Both players are assessed anywhere from a two-minute penalty to a five minute major after the fight is over. They are welcomed to join the game after the penalty is served and the next stoppage in play occurs as this is not a power play since both players are serving the penalty. So it is still typically 5-on-5 hockey through out the penalty.
How Is Overtime Handled for the Regular Season and the Playoffs?
Overtime, an extra period of play happens when the game is tied after the 3rd period and there must be a way to determine a winner. Both teams earn a point for forcing overtime but are given another point and more positive momentum moving forward if they win in overtime or a shootout.
During the regular season, overtime is five minutes (compared to the typical 20-minute period) and is 3-on-3 play with both goalies in the net. This format was first implemented in 2015-16 and favors the team with more speed and skill. Some ice hockey players and fans complain that it isn’t the proper way to determine a winner.
If the game is still tied after the five minutes of overtime, then a shootout is played. A shootout is a 1-on-1 skater vs goalie duel in the regular season where a skater is granted the opportunity to skate with the puck from center ice to try and score on the goalie. It’s typically best of three wins the shootout, but will continue if the score remains even after three and will go until someone breaks the tie.
In Conclusion
As you can tell, hockey has many rules that determine the parameters and fairness of the game. Hopefully after reading this article, you have a better understanding of the game and know what is happening in real time. Make sure to check out the many links provided within this article to gain deeper knowledge of the rules and please leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions for additional content.
