Overtime in hockey is used to determine the winner of a tied game. During the regular season, a five-minute sudden death period is played with four players on each side, followed by a shootout if necessary. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, a 20-minute sudden death period is played until one team scores. The longest game in NHL history was over 116 overtime minutes. The Stanley Cup Finals have resulted in a goal in overtime 14 times, with the most recent in 2000.
Overtime in hockey, as in any sport, is a period of time used to determine the winner of a game that is tied at the end of regulation time. Overtime in hockey falls into the “sudden death” category, meaning that the first team to score wins, but there are some variations. During the National Hockey League regular season, tied games are followed by a five-minute overtime period. Extra time is played four against four, while the regular game has five players on each side.
If neither team scores during the five extra minutes, the teams engage in a “shootout”. In the shootout, each team selects three players to take what is essentially a penalty shootout – a one-on-one game between a player and the other team’s goalkeeper. The teams take turns in the penalty shootout, and the team with the most goals from three attempts is the winner. If teams remain tied after the three rounds of shootout, extra rounds are added until the tie is resolved. Shootouts are also often used in international play, although international shootouts usually consist of five rounds instead of three.
In the NHL postseason – the Stanley Cup playoffs – shootouts are not used, but ties cannot be allowed. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, the teams play a standard 20-minute overtime period. It’s still sudden death, but the period is longer. If the teams remain tied after the first overtime, there is a similar interval to those between regular times and the teams resume play with another 20-minute overtime. This continues until one team scores.
Because scoring is relatively uncommon in hockey, this style of overtime work can make for some extremely long games. The longest game in NHL history was a playoff game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons in 1936, which Detroit won 1-0 after more than 116 overtime minutes, or nearly six full overtimes. Six overtimes equal two full regulation games, all played after the three regulation periods.
Fourteen times, the Stanley Cup Finals have resulted in a goal in overtime. The most recent was in 2000 when New Jersey’s Jason Arnott scored over Dallas goaltender Ed Belfour in the second overtime of Game 6 to give the Devils the Stanley Cup.
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