Offside in hockey is called when an attacking player enters the offensive zone before the puck does. The puck must completely cross the blue line first. A player is onside if at least one skate is on or behind the blue line at that moment. Play stops and the faceoff moves outside the zone.
Offside is the most common whistle in hockey. It is also the rule that produces the most replays, because it often comes down to a few centimeters of skate blade. Once you know what the linesman is watching, it becomes easy to call from your seat.
What is offside in hockey?
The rink is split into three zones by two blue lines: your defensive zone, the neutral zone in the middle, and the attacking zone in front of the other team's net.
The offside rule says the puck has to enter the attacking zone before any attacking player does. If a teammate skates over the blue line ahead of the puck and the puck then comes into the zone, that player is offside. The linesman blows the whistle and play restarts with a faceoff outside the blue line.
The point of the rule is to stop players from parking themselves next to the goalie and waiting for a long pass. Everyone on the attack has to come into the zone behind, or with, the puck.
What does offside mean in hockey, exactly?
Two things decide every offside call:
- The puck must completely cross the blue line into the attacking zone. A puck sitting on the line is still outside the zone.
- The player's skates, not his stick or body, decide where he is. A player is onside if at least one skate is on the blue line or on the neutral-zone side of it at the moment the puck completely crosses. Since 2021-22, a skate does not have to be touching the ice: a skate in the air above the line, but not yet past it, still counts as onside.
So the question the linesman asks is: at the instant the whole puck crossed the line, did any attacker have both skates completely over it? If yes, offside.
There is one exception worth knowing. A player who is carrying the puck himself can cross the line ahead of it, for example while skating backward or protecting the puck. He controls it, so he is not offside.
What is delayed offside?
Not every offside stops play right away. If an attacking player is offside when the puck enters the zone, but the defending team gets the puck, the linesman raises his arm and lets play continue. This is a delayed offside.
The attacking team then has to tag up: every attacker in the zone must skate back out and make skate contact with the blue line. Once they have, the linesman drops his arm and the attack can come back in legally. If an attacker touches the puck, or the attacking team keeps pressuring while still offside, the whistle goes.
Delayed offside keeps the game moving. Without it, a defending team that had already won the puck would have to stop for a faceoff it did not need.
What is intentional offside?
If the linesman believes a team went offside on purpose, for example to get a stoppage for a tired line, he can call intentional offside. The faceoff then moves all the way back to the offending team's defensive zone. It is rarely called.
Can coaches challenge offside?
Yes. Since 2015-16 the NHL has allowed a coach's challenge when a goal is scored on a play that may have started with an offside entry. Video review checks whether an attacker was offside before the goal. If he was, the goal comes off the board.
A failed challenge is costly: the challenging team gets a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game, and a second failed challenge in the same game is a four-minute double minor. That puts the opponent on the power play, so coaches only challenge when the replay is clear.
These reviews are why you sometimes see a goal disallowed for a play that happened 20 or 30 seconds earlier: the zone entry that started the shift was offside.
How is offside different from icing?
Fans mix up the two because both are called by a linesman and both stop play without a penalty.
| Offside | Icing | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | An attacker enters the attacking zone before the puck | Puck shot from behind the center red line crosses the opponent's goal line untouched |
| Line that matters | The blue line | The center red line and the goal line |
| Where the faceoff goes | Outside the blue line, in the neutral zone (offending team's end if intentional) | In the offending team's defensive zone |
| Can the offending team change? | Yes | No |
See our icing guide for the full icing rule.
Is there still a two-line pass rule?
No. Older fans remember the "two-line pass" rule, which made it illegal to pass from your defensive zone to a teammate beyond the center red line. The NHL removed it in 2005-06, which opened up stretch passes and breakaways. Today the center red line matters for icing, not for passing.
How to call offside from your seat
Watch the attacking team's skates as the puck reaches the blue line, not the puck carrier. Look for the trailing winger who is "cheating" toward the zone. If his back skate is still on the line when the puck goes across, he is onside, even if his body is leaning far into the zone.
If you want to see these calls in real games tonight, the NHL games tonight page lists every matchup with the TV channel.
Frequently asked questions
- What is offside in hockey?
- Offside is called when an attacking player crosses the opponent's blue line into the attacking zone before the puck does. Play stops and the faceoff moves outside the zone.
- What does offside mean in hockey?
- It means a player entered the offensive zone ahead of the puck. A player is onside as long as one skate is on or behind the blue line when the puck completely crosses it.
- What is a delayed offside in hockey?
- When an attacker is offside but the defending team has the puck, the linesman raises his arm and play continues. The attackers must all leave the zone and touch the blue line ("tag up") before they can attack again.
- Is a skate in the air onside?
- Yes. Since 2021-22, a skate above the blue line counts as onside even if it is not touching the ice, as long as it has not passed beyond the line.
- What happens after an offside in hockey?
- Play stops and the faceoff is held in the neutral zone, just outside the blue line. If the linesman rules the offside intentional, the faceoff moves to the offending team's defensive zone.
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