How long is a NHL hockey game? About 2½ hours in real time from puck drop to the end, including three periods of play and intermissions. Overtime formats differ between the regular season and the playoffs.
The key differences are in overtime rules:
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Regular Season
- One 5-minute sudden-death overtime (3-on-3 format) is played if the game is tied after 60 minutes of regulation.
- If still tied after overtime, a shootout (best-of-3 rounds, then sudden-death rounds if needed) decides the winner. No regular-season games end in a tie (the NHL eliminated ties by introducing the shootout in 2005).
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Playoffs
- No shootouts – tied playoff games go into continuous 20-minute overtime periods (5-on-5) until someone scores.
- Teams keep playing additional full overtime periods, back-to-back, until a sudden-death goal occurs. This can lead to marathon games with multiple overtimes in rare cases.
- Because a winner must be decided, playoff games can run much longer than regular-season games if several overtime periods are needed.
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Preseason
- Follows the same format as the regular season: 60 minutes of regulation, and if tied, a 5-minute overtime followed by a shootout if necessary.
- Preseason games don’t count in the standings, but overtime is still used for practice and fan entertainment. These exhibition games generally last around the same 2½-hour duration as a regular game.
NHL Game Timing Basics
An NHL game is divided into three periods of 20 minutes each, for a total of 60 minutes of game clock time. However, the clock stops whenever play is halted (for example, for offsides, icing, penalties, goals, or the puck leaving the ice). With all these stoppages, each 20-minute period actually takes about 30–40 minutes in real time. Between periods, there are two intermissions (breaks) that last around 15–18 minutes each to allow for ice resurfacing and team adjustments.
Professional broadcasts also include three TV commercial breaks per period (usually around the 14:00, 10:00, and 6:00 minute marks). Each TV timeout lasts roughly 2 minutes. Teams also get one 30-second timeout per game. Considering stoppages, intermissions, and commercials, a standard NHL game usually spans about 2 to 2½ hours in total. TV networks typically schedule 2½ to 2¾ hours for broadcasts to accommodate all breaks. Fans attending or watching should expect roughly that much time from the opening faceoff to the final horn.
Regular Season Games
During the regular season, an NHL hockey game consists of 60 minutes of regulation play (three 20-minute periods). Including intermissions and stoppages, most games last around 2½ hours. If tied after 60 minutes, teams play one 5-minute sudden-death overtime period (3-on-3). The first team to score wins. If still tied, the game proceeds to a shootout.
The shootout involves three one-on-one attempts per team; if still tied, it continues in sudden-death rounds. Because of this, all regular-season NHL games end with a winner — ties were eliminated in 2005. Overtime and shootout procedures usually add 5–15 minutes of real time. So, even with overtime, most regular-season games wrap up within roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Playoff Games
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, regulation remains three 20-minute periods (60 minutes). However, there are no shootouts and no time limits in overtime. Tied games continue with full 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods until someone scores. Intermissions between playoff overtime periods last about 15 minutes.
Playoff games that end in the first overtime last about 3 hours total. Games that extend into double or triple overtime can easily exceed 4 hours. The longest NHL game ever played went to six overtimes — 176 minutes of hockey in total. A modern example occurred in 2020 when Tampa Bay and Columbus played five overtimes, one of the longest in league history.
Preseason Games
NHL preseason games follow the same timing structure as regular-season games: three 20-minute periods, two intermissions, and standard stoppages. A typical preseason game lasts around 2 to 2½ hours. If tied, teams play one 5-minute 3-on-3 overtime period, and then a shootout if needed. These games often test lineups and give players practice with overtime situations, though coaches sometimes agree to skip a shootout if desired.
References
- FloHockey – How Long Is a Typical Hockey Game?
- ESPN – What Are NHL Overtime Rules?
- Team Canada – Differences Between NHL, PWHL, and Olympic Hockey Rules
- Cheltenham Sports – How Long Do Average Hockey Games Last?
- NHL.com – Lightning, Blue Jackets Set Records in 5OT Game
Michael Simon
