Rules and penalties

Icing, offside, power plays and fighting, checked against the current NHL rulebook.

Hockey penalties and their lengths

Penalties run from a 2 minute minor to a match penalty. A major lasts 5 minutes. A third major in one game gets the player ejected (Rule 20.4).

A power play starts when a player goes to the penalty box. His team plays one skater short until the penalty ends. The most common power play is 5 on 4 for up to two minutes.

Icing and offside

Icing is a stop in play for a long shot. A player sends the puck from his own side of the center red line, and it slides past the other team’s goal line.

In the NHL, a linesman judges a race for the puck. If a defender would touch it first, the linesman blows the whistle.

Offside happens when an attacker enters the attacking zone ahead of the puck. Both skates must be fully over the blue line before the puck.

One skate on the line keeps the player onside. The NHL covers offside in Rule 83.

Fighting

A fight breaks the rules. The referee gives each NHL fighter a five minute major penalty.

A regular fight does not get a player thrown out of the game. He serves his five minutes and then returns.

A Gordie Howe hat trick is one player’s goal, assist and fight in one game. It is not an official NHL stat. Gordie Howe himself had only two, in 1,767 NHL games.

Start here

These guides cover the main rules and penalties:

• What is icing in hockey?
• What is offside in hockey?
• What is a power play in hockey?
• Hockey penalties: 30 NHL calls with rule numbers
• Why is fighting allowed in hockey?
• What is a Gordie Howe hat trick?