In hockey, shootouts are a fundamental component of deciding the winner of games that are tied after an overtime period. Shootouts are a competition between the goalies and three designated shooters on each team. The team that scores the most goals in a shootout wins the game. Keep reading to learn more about shootouts in hockey.
At the end of a regular season NHL game, if the score is tied, the game goes into an extra five-minute period, also known as overtime. During this overtime period, the game ends if either team scores a goal. If there is no goal scored during this five-minute overtime, a shootout occurs to determine the winner of the game.
During a shootout, each team selects three players to rotate taking penalty shots against the opposing team’s goalie. The teams switch off taking shots, with the winning team being the team that scores more goals out of the three possible attempts.
The shootout allows for ties to be eliminated from the NHL entirely, with teams still receiving a point if they lose in overtime or a shootout while they get two points if they win the game.
The regular season is the only time during the NHL season that a shootout can be used to determine the winner of the game. When it comes time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, shootouts are not used to determine a winner. Instead, the NHL playoffs use additional overtime periods as needed to determine a winner.
Shootouts are a crucial method in which hockey leagues decide the winner in closely-contested games, so naturally, there is a strict procedure regarding how these shootouts are conducted. The NHL’s shootout procedure is as follows:
Given the important role shootouts play in hockey games, there are certain rules used to govern the tiebreaker. The main rules used to regulate hockey shootouts are as follows:
Shootouts are also featured in Olympic ice hockey, with minor rule differences. The main difference between Olympic and NHL shootouts lies in the procedure of a shootout if it remains tied after each team has taken three shots. In the Olympics, rather than maintaining this three-person rotation of taking shots, a coach can have one player take as many shots as they like if they choose to do so.
Outside of this difference in structure, the International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body for international ice hockey, also officially uses the term “game-winning shot” instead of shootout. However, outside of these minor differences, the IIHF rules are identical to the NHL shootout procedure.
There are three rounds during a shootout in hockey, consisting of three different players from each team taking shots. The winner in a shootout is the team that wins the most frames. A frame in a shootout is the grouping of both teams’ shots, and the winner of a frame is when the first team makes their shot but the following team misses. If the amount of shots in the shootout is tied after the three frames, then a sudden death round is activated, and the first team to win a frame wins the game.
No, there are not any shootouts during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. There is only one overtime period during the regular season, and if a winner is not determined after this period, a shootout occurs. However, once the playoffs start, 20-minute overtime periods are added if games are tied after regulation, and teams will play as many overtime periods as necessary to determine a winner. The longest game in NHL playoff history lasted a total of six overtimes and took a total of 116 game minutes to complete.
Before a shootout starts, coaches must decide the three players that are taking their shootout shots as well as the order in which they will take them. After this decision is made, the coach of the home team will decide if they would like to shoot first or second in the shootout. About 80% of the time, the coach of the home team elects to go first in the shootout as it has proven to be the statistically better decision.
The player that is taking the penalty shot during a shootout cannot stop moving forward towards the goal they are trying to shoot on and cannot begin moving backward. If the player stops or moves backward in their approach for a shootout, the shot will be discontinued, and the team will not receive a point even if a goal is scored.
Due to the rules that are currently in place involving shootouts during the regular season and unlimited overtimes during the playoffs, it is impossible for an NHL game to end in a tie. In the regular season, a shootout is in place to prevent ties and make the games more fun and enjoyable for both the players and the fans. In the playoffs, a tie cannot occur because one team needs to win the series and advance.
