How does overtime and shootout work in hockey, in simple terms?
Don't laugh, guys, but I watched a game the other night that ended tied and went to 3-on-3 overtime and then a shootout, and I still don't fully get it 😅 What exactly does sudden death mean, and why do they do a shootout instead of just playing more 5-on-5 hockey? Maybe I'm wrong but that seems weird. Thanks in advance 🙏
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Don't laugh, I asked the same thing about 20 years ago standing in line for a coffee at the old arena 😄
Here's the short version: if a regular-season game is tied after 60 minutes, they play a 5-minute overtime at 3-on-3 (plus the goalie), and it's sudden death — first goal wins, game over. If nobody scores in those five minutes, it goes to a shootout, where three shooters per side take turns going in alone on the goalie, and if it's still even after that, it keeps going one shooter at a time until somebody settles it. The league went to 3-on-3 back in 2015 precisely to cut down on shootouts, open ice means somebody almost always scores, which most folks prefer to a skills competition deciding things.
And playoff hockey is a different animal entirely: 5-on-5 sudden death, 20-minute periods, and you play as long as it takes.
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sorry if this is another daft one 🙈 but what happens if the 3-on-3 overtime ends and nobody scored? does the shootout really go shot by shot until someone finally wins, or is there a limit? always wondered that 😅 thanks to DaveArmy and Jack_Fan btw, sudden death makes sense now!
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Good question from ValueModel95, and the answer's in the rulebook: no, the shootout does not go on forever. In the NHL regular season, each team gets three rounds of one shooter against the goalie. If it's still tied after those three, it switches to sudden death. One shooter each per round, and the game ends the moment one team scores and the other misses in the same round. Same three shooters can go again and again if they keep converting.
As for why the shootout exists at all instead of just playing more 5-on-5: TV windows and tired legs, mostly. The league wanted regular-season games decided within about two and a half hours, so 3-on-3 opened up space for chances, and the shootout is the last resort when five minutes can't settle it. Playoffs are a different animal, full 5-on-5, 20-minute periods, sudden death, as many overtimes as it takes. Nobody's ending a Game 7 on a skills competition.
DaveArmy nailed the basics, Dave, so I'll just fill in the two gaps you're actually asking about. Sudden death means exactly that: in overtime, the first goal ends everything, no matter how little time has run off the clock. And the reason it's 3-on-3 in the regular season is space - with that much open ice, someone almost always gets a scoring chance within the five minutes, so the league gets a decisive winner way more often than the old 4-on-4 format did. There's a nuance here, though: the shootout only exists because the NHL doesn't want regular-season games dragging on, players are already tired, and points are shared anyway (loser still picks up one). Come playoff time, none of that applies - 5-on-5 sudden death until someone scores, however many periods it takes.
For a picture of how fast 3-on-3 resolves things: watch basically any recent regular-season game that goes past regulation.
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Fanatic_Life has it right, and I'll add one wrinkle: the sudden-death rounds in the shootout only count if every listed shooter takes a turn before anyone goes a second time. What bugs me about the whole format is that a skills competition decides a standings point, but that's the NHL's choice, not mine. Regular season only - playoff overtime is 5-on-5 and runs until someone scores, however long that takes.
Where's the proof?
Been watching shootouts since they first came into the league and I still remember folks grumbling about them, so fair questions all round 😄 In short: regular-season games tied after 60 minutes get five minutes of sudden-death 3-on-3 overtime, and if nobody scores, the shootout runs three shooters a side, then sudden-death rounds until someone blinks. The 3-on-3 is there to open the ice up and hopefully settle it with honest hockey before resorting to the skills competition. And Harry's wrinkle is right, every listed shooter takes his turn before anyone goes twice.
Got it now, thanks guys 🙏 so it's three rounds then sudden death rounds after that. Don't laugh, but the first time I watched a shootout go deep into extra rounds I thought they'd just keep going forever like a soccer penaltyfest. Only caught the tail end of one on Hockey Night in Canada last season and was so confused 😅 quick check though - can a goalie who's pulled in OT come back for the shootout, or is that not a thing?
Was at a Canucks game years back where the shootout went like nine rounds, place was losing its mind 😂 way better lottery than 3-on-3 coin flips if you ask me 💸