NHL Overtime and Shootout Rules

Ties have not existed in the NHL since the 2004-05 lockout. Every game now produces a winner, but how that winner is decided depends on whether it is October or May. Here is how both formats work, and why overtime matters so much for the standings.

How does overtime work in the NHL regular season?

When a regular-season game is tied after three periods:

1. Both teams are guaranteed one point in the standings for reaching overtime.
2. After a short break, they play up to 5 minutes of sudden-death overtime with three skaters and a goalie a side. The first goal ends the game.
3. Teams switch ends for overtime, so the bench is far from the defensive zone for both teams, just like in the second period. This "long change" makes line changes riskier and creates more odd-man rushes.
4. If the 5 minutes end with no goal, the game goes to a shootout.

The NHL moved to 3-on-3 overtime in the 2015-16 season. Before that, overtime was 4-on-4, and before 2005 games could end in a tie. With so much open ice, 3-on-3 settles far more games before the shootout than 4-on-4 did. Some coaches will even pull the goalie for an extra attacker when they have possession late in overtime, since a loss costs no more than a shootout defeat would.

So far in 2026-27, 55 of the 250 games played (22%) have gone past regulation, and 18 of those were decided in a shootout.

What happens to penalties in overtime?

Penalties in 3-on-3 overtime do not take players away the way they do in regulation. Instead, the team on the power play adds a skater. A single minor penalty makes it 4-on-3. If a second penalty is called on the same team, it becomes 5-on-3. When the penalty expires, play gets back to 3-on-3 at the next stoppage. Read more on how penalties work in our power play guide.

How does a shootout work in hockey?

A shootout is a series of one-on-one breakaways: a single shooter against the goalie.

• Each team names three shooters. The teams alternate, and the home team decides whether to shoot first or second.
• The shooter starts at center ice and skates in alone. The puck has to keep moving toward the goal. There are no rebounds: once the goalie makes a save or the shot misses, the attempt is over.
• After three rounds, the team with more goals wins. If one team clinches before all three rounds are done (say, 2-0 after two rounds), it ends early.
• If it is still tied after three rounds, the shootout goes to sudden death, one shooter per team per round, until one team scores and the other does not.
• No player can shoot twice until every eligible skater on his team has taken a turn. That is why long shootouts sometimes end with a defenseman or a fourth-liner scoring the winner.

The winning team is credited with one goal in the final score. A game that was 2-2 after overtime goes into the books as 3-2, with "SO" after the score. Goals scored in the shootout do not count in players' goal totals.

The shootout was introduced in 2005-06, the season the NHL got rid of ties.

How many points do you get for an overtime or shootout win?

The winning team gets 2 points, the same as a regulation win. The losing team still gets 1 point, the "loser point." A team that loses in regulation gets nothing.

Where the type of win matters is the tiebreaker. When two teams finish with the same number of points, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. Next comes regulation plus overtime wins, which leaves out shootout wins. So a club that wins a lot of shootouts can finish behind a team with the same points. Our standings guide explains the full order.

That extra point also changes how the standings add up. Because some games award three points in total instead of two, the league average is well above .500 in points percentage, which is why a team can be "above .500" and still out of a playoff spot.

How does overtime work in the NHL playoffs?

Playoff overtime is a different game:

• Full 20-minute periods, not 5 minutes.
• Five-on-five, the same strength as regulation.
• Sudden death: the first goal wins.
• No shootout, ever. If a period ends without a goal, the teams take an intermission, the ice is resurfaced, and they play another full period.

Because nothing stops a playoff game except a goal, overtimes can stack up. Plenty end in the first few minutes, but games that need two or more overtimes happen most springs.

How many overtimes can there be in the NHL playoffs?

There is no limit. The record is six overtimes, set on March 24 and 25, 1936, when Mud Bruneteau of the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons after 116 minutes and 30 seconds of extra time.

More recent marathons include the Philadelphia Flyers' five-overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 4, 2000, and the Tampa Bay Lightning's five-overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on August 11, 2020, during the bubble playoffs.

Do the rules change for the Stanley Cup Final?

No. Every playoff round, including the Stanley Cup Final, uses the same sudden-death 20-minute format. The only thing that changes in the playoffs is that ties in a series are impossible: a best-of-seven series always ends with one team on four wins. Read how the NHL playoffs work for the format.

Why overtime matters for the playoff race

Overtime and shootout results move playoff odds more than fans expect, because the losing team still banks a point. On the playoff picture we simulate every remaining game, including the chance it goes past regulation, so the loser point is already baked into each team's odds. The details are on our methodology page.