Ice Hockey (NHL/IIHF) — Official Rules

Ice hockey is played between two teams of six players each (five skaters and one goalkeeper on the ice). The object is to score goals by driving the puck legally into the opponent's net. Each goal counts as one point, and the team that scores more goals over the course of the game is the winner. The puck must wholly cross the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar, propelled by a stick (or deflected off a skater's body off a shot, within the rules), for a goal to count.

A team dresses a roster of up to 22 skaters and 3 goalkeepers for IIHF championship play. Six players are on the ice for each team during normal play: five skaters (typically two defenders and three forwards) and one goalkeeper. A team may replace its goalkeeper with an extra attacker at any time. Substitutions are made "on the fly" without stopping play or at any stoppage, provided the departing player is within the change zone and out of play.

Games are officiated under a four-official system: two Referees and two Linespersons (or a two/three-official system in lower competitions). Referees call goals and penalties and have final authority on judgement calls. Linespersons rule mainly on icing, offside, and faceoffs. Under the 2025/26 changes (Rule 32), a Linesperson may stop play and report to the Referees when a goalkeeper plays the puck outside the designated area behind the net.

IIHF games are played on a rectangular ice rink measuring 60 m long by 30 m wide (older arenas may be 26-30 m wide), with rounded corners of 7.0-8.5 m radius. The rink is surrounded by boards (perimeter fence) about 1.0-1.22 m high topped with protective glass. The ice surface is divided by lines into three zones used to govern offside and icing.

The rink is divided by a centre red line and two blue lines into three zones: the defending zone, the neutral zone (between the blue lines), and the attacking zone. The goal lines are marked 4 m from the end boards. The neutral zone between the blue lines is roughly 17-18 m deep. The blue lines and centre line are used to judge offside and icing; goals are scored on the goal lines.

Each goal frame measures 1.83 m wide and 1.22 m high (6 ft x 4 ft, interior), placed on the goal line and anchored to resist displacement. In front of each goal is a semicircular goal crease of 1.83 m radius (3.66 m wide). The crease protects the goalkeeper: a goal is disallowed if an attacker interferes with the goalkeeper's ability to defend the goal within the crease.

The rink has nine faceoff spots: one at centre ice, four in the neutral zone, and four in the end zones (two in each defending/attacking zone). Play is started and restarted by a faceoff, where one player from each team contests the dropped puck. The puck is a vulcanised rubber disc, 7.62 cm (3 in) in diameter, 2.54 cm (1 in) thick, and weighing 156-170 g, frozen before use to reduce bouncing.

A game consists of three periods of 20 minutes of actual (stop-time) play, separated by two intermissions of 15 minutes (15-18 minutes per competition). The game clock stops on every whistle, so the running time of a period far exceeds 20 minutes. Teams change ends after each period. The clock counts down within each period.

If the score is tied after regulation, sudden-death overtime is played: the first goal wins. Overtime is played at reduced strength of three skaters and one goalkeeper (3-on-3) per team. The overtime length depends on the competition: typically a 5-minute period in preliminary-round games and a 10-minute period (after a short intermission) in qualification-playoff, quarter-final and semi-final games. Under the 2025/26 change (Rule 74.5), a goalkeeper who has been pulled for an extra attacker in overtime may re-enter while play continues.

If overtime does not produce a winner, the game is decided by Game-Winning Shots (GWS), a penalty-shot shootout. In IIHF championship play, five different shooters from each team take penalty shots alternately; only the decisive goal counts toward the final score. If still tied after the five rounds, the shootout continues as sudden-death (one shooter per team per round) with a reversed shooting order until one team scores and the other does not. (Some leagues use a 3-round format before sudden death.)

Each team is entitled to one 30-second timeout per game, which may be taken only during a stoppage of play. A timeout lets a coach rest players and set tactics. In addition, scheduled commercial/TV timeouts may occur at set stoppages in televised competitions. Only one timeout per team is permitted regardless of overtime.

A goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the posts and below the crossbar, having been put there legally. A goal is disallowed if it was kicked in deliberately, batted in with a hand, struck with a high stick above the height of the crossbar, or scored while an attacking player illegally interferes with the goalkeeper in the crease. The puck may legally deflect off a defending player or off an attacker's skate without a kicking motion.

Goals are recorded by strength: even-strength (equal players), power-play (scoring team has a man advantage from a penalty), short-handed (scoring team is a man down), empty-net (opponent's goalkeeper is pulled), or penalty-shot goals. Each goal counts the same single point regardless of strength; the classification is for statistics and for determining when a power play ends.

The player who last touches the puck before it enters the net is credited with the goal; up to two assists are credited to the immediately preceding teammates who advanced the same possession. A shot on goal is a puck directed at the net that scores or is stopped by the goalkeeper. The official record tracks goals, assists, shots, faceoff wins, and penalty minutes (PIM).

A player is offside if both of their skates completely cross the attacking blue line ahead of the puck. The position of the skates relative to the blue line, not the stick, determines offside. When offside is called, play stops and a faceoff is held in the neutral zone. A team may legally re-enter its attacking zone ("tag up") by having all players clear back over the blue line.

Icing is called when a team shoots the puck from behind the centre red line across the opponent's goal line without it being touched, and the team was at equal or greater strength. IIHF uses automatic (no-touch) icing: the linesperson whistles icing the moment the puck legally crosses the goal line, with no race for the puck required (unlike NHL hybrid icing). Play stops and the faceoff is taken in the offending team's defending zone, and that team cannot change players before the faceoff. Icing is waved off if the puck crosses the goal line on a faceoff, off a defender, or while a team is short-handed.

Play is started and restarted by a faceoff: an official drops the puck between two opposing players at one of the nine faceoff spots, chosen according to where and why play stopped. Only the two players taking the faceoff may be in the faceoff circle; encroachment or an illegal faceoff results in the offending centre being waved out and replaced, with a possible minor penalty for repeated violations.

A minor penalty (2 minutes) removes the offending player to the penalty box, leaving the team short-handed. A bench-minor (2 minutes) is for a team infraction and may be served by any non-penalised player. A minor penalty ends early if the team on the power play scores during it. Common minor infractions include tripping, hooking, holding, slashing, interference, cross-checking, high-sticking, delay of game, and too many players on the ice.

A double-minor penalty (2 + 2 = 4 minutes) is assessed for certain infractions, most often high-sticking that causes injury (drawing blood). The penalty is served as two consecutive minors; if the power-play team scores during the first two minutes, only that portion ends and the second two-minute segment begins.

A major penalty (5 minutes) is assessed for serious infractions (e.g. fighting, or a severe version of a minor foul) and is served in full regardless of how many goals the opponent scores. A second major in the same game, or any major for certain offences, carries an automatic game-misconduct ejection. A team serving a major remains short-handed for the entire five minutes.

A misconduct penalty (10 minutes) removes a player for 10 minutes but does not reduce the team's on-ice strength (a substitute serves any accompanying minor in the box if needed). A game-misconduct ejects the player for the rest of the game (and may carry a 10-minute PIM record), with a substitute replacing them; it does not by itself leave the team short-handed. Accumulated game-misconducts may trigger an automatic suspension.

A match penalty is the most severe: the player is ejected from the game for a deliberate attempt to injure or for extreme misconduct, and a teammate serves a 5-minute penalty in the box (leaving the team short-handed for five minutes). A match penalty is automatically reviewed by the disciplinary panel and typically results in a suspension.

A penalty shot is awarded when a player on a clear breakaway is illegally fouled from behind, when the net is illegally displaced or an object is thrown to stop a scoring chance, or when a defender (other than the goalkeeper) covers the puck in the crease. One designated player skates in alone from centre ice against the goalkeeper; a goal counts as one point, and no time is added to the clock regardless of outcome.

Stick fouls are penalised by their severity. Slashing (swinging the stick at an opponent), hooking (using the stick to impede), cross-checking (hitting with the shaft held in both hands), high-sticking (contact above the shoulders), and spearing/butt-ending (jabbing with the blade or shaft) draw a minor, double-minor, major, or match penalty depending on force and injury. High-sticking that draws blood is a double-minor.

Tripping, holding, interference (impeding a player who does not have the puck), boarding (checking an opponent dangerously into the boards), charging (a violent run/jump check), clipping, and roughing are typically minor penalties, escalating to major/match where injury or danger is involved. Checking from behind and head contact are treated severely and usually carry a major plus game-misconduct or a match penalty.

A goalkeeper cannot be sent to the penalty box. Under the 2025/26 change (Rule 27), when a goalkeeper is penalised, the penalty is served by a teammate who was on the ice when play was stopped (coordinated with the scorekeeper), rather than by any chosen player. Goalkeepers may also be penalised for playing the puck outside the permitted trapezoid/area behind the net, which a Linesperson may now report (Rule 32). A goalkeeper who leaves the crease to participate in an altercation receives a penalty.

Unsportsmanlike conduct (abuse of officials, diving/embellishment, taunting) draws a minor or misconduct penalty. Under the 2025/26 change (Rule 75), a team receives one warning per game for any player who sits on the boards with skate(s) exposed to the rink during play; a repeat offence is penalised. Diving/embellishment to draw a penalty is itself penalised, and may be subject to supplementary fines.

When a team is penalised, the opponent gains a power play (man advantage). Common situations are 5-on-4 (one penalty), 5-on-3 (two penalties), and 4-on-3 (in overtime or with offsetting penalties). A team may not be reduced below three skaters plus a goalkeeper on the ice; additional penalties are queued and begin when an earlier one expires. A power play on a minor penalty ends as soon as the team with the advantage scores.

The short-handed team kills the penalty by preventing a goal until the penalty time expires. While short-handed, a team may legally ice the puck without an icing call. The penalised player returns to the ice the moment the penalty time is fully served (for a major) or when it expires/ends on a goal (for a minor). When the last penalty expires, even strength is restored.

A team may pull its goalkeeper at any time, replacing them with an extra attacker (commonly 6-on-5) to press for a goal, typically late in a game when trailing. A goal scored by the opponent into the empty net counts normally. The goalkeeper may return at any stoppage; under the 2025/26 Rule 74.5, in overtime the goalkeeper may also re-enter while play continues after having been pulled.

Substitutions are unlimited and may be made "on the fly" during play or at any stoppage, provided the player leaving is within 1.5 m of the bench and out of play before the substitute enters. Having too many players on the ice is a bench-minor (2 minutes) penalty. A team that ices the puck may not change players before the ensuing faceoff.

Referees may use video review to determine whether a goal is valid. Reviewable situations include whether the puck fully crossed the goal line, whether it entered before time expired or before a whistle, whether it was directed in by a hand or kicking motion or a high stick above the crossbar, and whether the net was dislodged. The video decision is final.

A head coach may issue a Coach's Challenge to review a goal for a preceding offside entry into the attacking zone or for goalkeeper interference. If the challenge is successful, the goal is overturned; if unsuccessful, the challenging team is assessed a bench-minor (2 minutes) for delaying the game (escalating penalties for repeated failed challenges under some competitions). Challenges must be made before play resumes.

If a scoring or timing error is discovered (wrong goal credited, miscounted penalty time, clock error), officials may issue a correction to the official game record, in consultation with the off-ice officials. The corrected record governs the final result. Corrections do not change a decision that has been finalised by an irreversible video review where the rules prohibit reopening.