What's better than playoff hockey? Overtime playoff hockey.
The NHL postseason never fails to bring excitement. From crazy comebacks to bone-jarring hits, to dramatic overtime game-winners, even casual and non-hockey fans can agree that playoff hockey does not disappoint.
So when teams are tied after 60 minutes of regulation in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it's must-see TV.
The 2022 NHL playoffs featured 22 games that needed extra time to decide a winner. The Stanley Cup Final between the Avalanche and Lightning had two of its six games go to overtime.
That number may be smashed this year. So far in the first round, 10 games have gone to overtime in the 2023 postseason.
NHL PLAYOFFS: FULL BRACKET | PREDICTIONS | POWER RANKINGS
As the 2023 playoffs get set to begin, here is a refresher on the overtime rules for the NHL postseason.
NHL playoff overtime rules 2022-23
When it comes to overtime in the playoffs, it's much simpler than the regular season: the game does not end until one team scores a goal.
If the game is tied after regulation, the two teams will play a full 20-minute period of overtime. Unlike the regular season, which features 3 on 3, the extra frames in the postseason are at 5 on 5.
It's sudden-death style, so the first team to score wins the contest.
If no one scores in the first OT period, the game continues into a second, and a third, and so on and so forth until a team scores to win it.
Are there shootouts in the NHL playoffs?
No, there are no shootouts in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
No matter the round, once the regular season is over, so are the shootouts in the NHL. The postseason features continuous periods until someone scores a winner.
What is the longest overtime game in NHL playoff history?
The longest overtime game in NHL history went six overtimes and accumulated over 176 minutes of playing time. It came during the 1936 postseason when the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons met in the Stanley Cup semifinal.
The matchup goes down as one of the greatest goaltending duels of all time. Detroit's Normie Smith and Montreal's Lorne Chabot refused to let anything in, as the game was 0-0 after 60 minutes of regulation. The result was the same after the first five overtimes.
The lone goal was scored during the sixth overtime when Red Wings rookie Mud Bruneteau beat Chabot to lift Detroit to a 1-0 win. While the official statistics from the game are not available, Smith reportedly finished the game with 92 saves as the winning goalie.
The game started on March 24 and did not end until 2:25 a.m. on March 25.
