The 2023 NHL playoffs begin Monday and with it comes 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.
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 (80 minutes, 48 seconds of overtime) in the 1996 conference semifinals. Anaheim 4, Dallas 3. Petr Sykora scored the winner.
5 – Four overtimes (79 minutes, 15 seconds of overtime) in the 1996 conference semifinals. Pittsburgh 3, Washington 2. Petr Nedved scored the winner.
Who in the 2023 postseason has the most playoff overtime goals?
5 – Rangers’ Patrick Kane and Lightning’s Corey Perry
4 – Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron
3 – Lightning’s Brayden Point, Bruins’ Brad Marchand, Stars’ Joe Pavelski and Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL overtime rules in playoffs: Postseason hockey bracket adds chaos
