A guide to the NHL: Scoring, rules, season structure and more

Everything you need to know about the NHL and how it works ahead of the upcoming season.

NHL Scoring System

The objective of any game in the NHL is for a team to score more goals than the opposing team - a goal being scored when the whole of the puck crosses over the goal line between the posts and below the crossbar, not necessarily having to touch the net.

If a winner cannot be determined in regulation time, then one period of sudden-death overtime will be played to find a winning goal.

If after overtime the two teams are still level, then a shootout takes place in which each team chooses three shooters for three complete rounds of penalty shots, with both teams taking a turn in each.

The team with the most goals scored after three rounds wins the game. If the score is still level, then the shootout continues in a sudden-death format with the winning team determined when one scores in a particular round and the other does not.

There are no shootouts in the playoffs, with overtime continuing until a winning goal is scored.

NHL Game Structure, Teams & Rules

How long is an NHL game?

An NHL game is split into three 20-minute periods, with the clock only running when the puck is in play,

If the scores are level at the end of regulation time, then the game will go into overtime.

How does overtime in the NHL work?

Overtime in the regular season works differently to overtime in the playoffs. 

In the regular season, teams play each other in a three-on-three format in overtime for one period of five minutes and if the scores are still level, then the game goes into a shootout.

In the playoffs, however, teams play continuous 20-minute periods of overtime at five-on-five until a goal is scored.

How many players are in an NHL team?

NHL teams are allowed 23 players on their active roster at any time during the season, with a maximum of 20 of those dressed for any given game.

The three active players who are not dressed for a game are identified as "healthy scratches".

There are five distinct positions in an ice hockey team - centre, left wing, right wing, defenceman and goaltender - with the roster made up of a combination of players in those position types.

Players can of course be employed in a position that is not necessarily their preferred choice, depending on various factors including injuries and suspensions on the roster before a game, or in-game strategies such as a greater need to attack.

During a game, a team is allowed a maximum of six players on the ice at any one time, with one usually a goaltender.

The make-up of the five skaters is not necessarily set in stone, but is usually made up of three forwards (centre, left wing, right wing) and two defencemen. 

In-game situations may change that set-up, with teams pulling their goaltender late in a game for an extra forward when trailing as an example.

Penalty situations when one team has a one-man or two-man advantage (known as powerplays) may see more offence-minded players on the ice instead of defencemen, as the team with the advantage looks to exploit the extra space that is available to them due to the the opposition having less players on the rink.

Conversely, the team with less players, who are on the "penalty kill", may have their better defence-minded players on the ice for as long as the penalty lasts.

Penalties

In a fast and frenetic sport in which physical contact is very much part of the entertainment, there is still the chance for players to go too far and a penalty is given.

There are varying degrees of penalty depending on the strength of the violation:

Penalty Shot - A free shot at goal against the goaltender after being illegally impeded from behind when clear on goal
Minor penalty - 2 minutes 
Major penalty - 5 minutes
Misconduct penalty - 10 minutes
Game Misconduct/Ejection - The remainder of the game

Common penalties include:

Tripping
Tripping an opponent by using a stick or one's own body, with the penalty potentially upgraded if it results in an injury.

Slashing
Swinging a stick in a forceful manner at an opponent, although no contact is needed to result in a penalty.

Roughing
Pushing or shoving an opposing player either away from the play on the ice, or after the whistle has been blown.

Boarding
Pushing, checking or tripping an opponent violently into the boards.

Charging
When a player takes more than three strides to speed up or jumps before delivering a hit on an opponent.

Holding
Grabbing an opponent's body, clothing or equipment with either the hands or stick.

Cross-checking
Hitting a player with the stick when it is held with both hands and with no part of it on the ice.

Misconduct
These penalties are given to infractions that are deemed to warrant an extended penalty and include using abusive language towards an official, challenging an official's decision or intentionally disrupting the game.

Fighting
Fighting is very much part of the history of ice hockey and although rules have been introduced that have led to its decline - with the debate over its continuation in the NHL ongoing - it is still at the very least tolerated.

Physical altercations between opposing players when punches are thrown with gloves removed would be considered fighting. Pushing, shoving and even punching when the gloves are still being worn would be penalised as "roughing".

Penalties for fighting
The NHL penalises players for fighting with a major penalty, worth five minutes in the penalty box. Where the NHL differs from other leagues around the world is that it does not automatically eject players from the game for their involvement. 

Other infractions

Offsides
A team's attack can be ended by an offside call which is given when a player on the attacking team crosses into the offensive zone before the puck. Play is stopped and resumed with a face-off in the neutral zone.

Icing
Icing is given when a player shoots, deflects or bats with the hand or stick the puck from inside their own half, across the centre line and the opposing team's red goal line without scoring or the puck being touched by a team-mate. A face-off in the offending team's defensive zone restarts the play.

NHL Season Structure

What are the NHL divisions and how many are there?

Expansion team Utah Hockey Club is set to play their first season in 2024/25, replacing the Arizona Coyotes, which sees the NHL remain as a 32-team competition, split into two conferences, with two divisions consisting of eight teams in each.

The Eastern Conference consists of the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division, while the Central Division and the Pacific Division make up the Western Conference.

Who is in the Atlantic Division?

• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Detroit Red Wings
• Florida Panthers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Who is in the Metropolitan Division?

• Carolina Hurricane
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• New York Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

Who is in the Central Division?

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St Louis Blues
• Utah Hockey Club
• Winnipeg Jets

Who is in the Pacific Division?

• Anaheim Ducks
• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks
• Seattle Kraken
• Vancouver Canucks
• Vegas Golden Knights

How many games are played in an NHL season?

The regular NHL season consists of 1,312 games, with each team playing 82 times, with the action planned to run from 4th October 2024, to 17th April 2025.

Teams will play five of their divisional rivals home and away twice, while they will play one of their remaining rivals twice at home and once away and the last rival once at home and twice away.

Each team will also play four of the teams in the other division in the same Conference twice at home and once away, and the other four once at home and twice away.

The rest of a team's schedule will be made up of home and away games against each of the teams in the other conference.

Which NHL games are being staged outside North America in 2024/25?

There will be four games taking place in Europe during the upcoming season, with the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils facing off twice in Prague, Czechia, to open the season.

The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers will play twice in Tampere, Finland at the start of November.

• 4th October - New Jersey Devils v Buffalo Sabres (Prague)
• 5th October - Buffalo Sabres v New Jersey Devils (Prague)
• 1st November - Florida Panthers v Dallas Stars (Tampere)
• 2nd November - Dallas Stars v Florida Panthers (Tampere)

NHL Playoffs Format

How many teams qualify for the NHL playoffs?

Sixteen teams qualify for the NHL playoffs, eight from each conference.

The top three teams in each division automatically qualify for the playoffs, while the two teams from each conference - regardless of division - with the highest point totals outside of those six teams also make it to the postseason. These two teams are known as the "wild cards".

All four rounds of the playoffs are played in a best-of-seven format, with the first team to win four games in the series progressing, while home-ice advantage goes to the team that had the best regular-season record.

In the first round of the playoffs, the divisional winner with the highest point total will play the wild card with the lowest point total in the same conference, while the other divisional winner will play the higher-ranked wild card.

That means the teams who qualified in second and third in their division will play each other within the bracket headed by their division winner.

The four winners of each series in each Conference progress to the second round, with the two winning teams to contest the Conference Finals.

Those two winners will then go head-to-head in the Stanley Cup Final for the right to be crowned the season’s champion team.