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NHL playoff overtime rules: Hockey postseason bracket means return of sudden death OT

jimmy hascup, usa today
·4 min read
11

The 2023 NHL playoffs began Monday and with it came the return of true overtime hockey.

While preseason and regular season games end with a shootout if a five-minute, three-on-three overtime period doesn't determine a winner, the playoffs mean a lot of sleepless nights because games will go on ... technically forever.

But in this edition of the postseason, hockey fans and those rooting for the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference or the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets in the West won't care too much about extended ice time for their teams.

EXPLAINER: Why are NHL major penalties reviewed and what has been the impact in playoffs?

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jesper Fast celebrates his overtime goal against the New York Islanders in Game 2 on April 19.
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Jesper Fast celebrates his overtime goal against the New York Islanders in Game 2 on April 19.

Let's take a closer look:

NHL playoff overtime rules

Think regular hockey until there is a winner played like the regulation periods. The playoffs will continue with 20-minute periods of five-on-five play until there is a winner. The game continues (after a 15-minute break) with subsequent overtime periods in sudden-death fashion.

Longest NHL playoff games

1 - Six overtimes (116 minutes, 30 seconds of overtime) in the 1936 semifinals, March 24, 1935. Detroit 1, Montreal Maroons 0. Mud Bruneteau scored the winner.

2 - Six overtimes (104 minutes, 46 seconds of overtime) in the 1933 semifinals. April 3, 1933. Toronto 1, Boston 0. Ken Doraty scored the winner.

3 - Five overtimes (92 minutes, 1 second of overtime) in the 2000 conference semifinals. Philadelphia 2, Pittsburgh 1. Keith Primeau scored the winner.

4. Five overtimes (90 minutes, 27 seconds of overtime) in the 2020 first round. Tampa Bay 3, Columbus 2. Brayden Point scored the winner.

5 - Five overtimes (80 minutes, 48 seconds of overtime) in the 1996 conference semifinals. Anaheim 4, Dallas 3. Petr Sykora scored the winner.

6 - Four overtimes (79 minutes 47 seconds of overtime) in the 2023 conference finals. Florida 3, Carolina 2. Matthew Tkachuk scored the winner.

Which 2023 playoff games have gone into overtime?

April 17: Wild 3, Stars 2. Minnesota's Ryan Hartman scored at 12:20 of the second overtime.

April 17: Kings 4, Oilers 3. Los Angeles' Alex Iafallo scored at 9:19 of overtime.

April 19: Hurricanes 4, Islanders 3. Carolina's Jesper Fast scored at 5:03 of overtime.

April 21: Kings 3, Oilers 2. Los Angeles' Trevor Moore scored at 3:24 of overtime.

April 22: Golden Knights 5, Jets 4. Vegas' Michael Amadio scored at 3:40 of the second overtime.

April 22: Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3. Toronto's Morgan Rielly scored at 19:15 of overtime.

April 22: Devils 2, Rangers 1. New Jersey's Dougie Hamilton scored at 11:36 of overtime.

April 23: Oilers 5, Kings 4. Edmonton's Zach Hyman scored at 10:39 of overtime.

April 24: Maple Leafs 5, Lightning 4. Toronto's Alexander Kerfoot scored at 4:14 of overtime.

April 24: Kraken 3, Avalanche 2. Seattle's Jordan Eberle scored at 3:00 of overtime.

April 26: Panthers 4, Bruins 3. Florida's Matthew Tkachuk scored at 6:05 of overtime.

April 28: Hurricanes 2, Islanders 1. Carolina's Paul Stastny scored at 6:00 of overtime.

April 29: Maple Leafs 2, Lightning 1. Toronto's John Tavares scored at 4:36 of overtime.

April 30: Panthers 4, Bruins 3. Florida's Carter Verhaeghe scored at 8:35 of overtime.

May 2: Kraken 5, Stars 4. Seattle's Yanni Gourde scored at 12:17 of overtime.

May 7: Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 2. Florida's Sam Reinhart scored at 3:02 of overtime.

May 11: Hurricanes 3, Devils 2. Carolina's Jesper Fast scored at 7:09 of overtime.

May 12: Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 2. Florida's Nick Cousins scored at 15:32 of overtime.

May 18: Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2. Florida's Matthew Tkachuk scored at 19:47 of the fourth overtime.

May 19: Golden Knights 4, Stars 3. Vegas' Brett Howden scored at 1:35 of overtime.

May 20: Panthers 2, Hurricanes 1. Florida's Matthew Tkachuk scored at 1:51 of overtime.

May 21: Golden Knights 3, Stars 2. Vegas' Chandler Stephenson scored at 1:12 of overtime.

May 25: Stars 3, Golden Knights 2. Dallas' Joe Pavelski scored at 3:18 of overtime.

June 8: Panthers 3, Golden Knights 2. Florida's Carter Verhaeghe scored at 4:27 of overtime.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL overtime rules for playoffs: Postseason hockey bracket gets wild