NHL overtime rules 2023-24: Explaining how the OT format works in hockey for regular season, playoffs | Sporting News Canada
After three periods, there are different sets of rules for the regular season and playoffs in the NHL.
www.sportingnews.comHere’s the latest on NHL playoff overtime rules as of 2026:
- Playoff overtime is unlimited: games continue with full 5-on-5 play in 20-minute periods until a team scores, with intermissions between periods. There is no shootout in the postseason.[1][2][3]
- Each overtime period is a fresh 20 minutes of play, and teams switch ends between periods; penalties still result in power plays, and all goals are reviewed by the Situation Room.[2][3]
- The rule set has remained 5-on-5 through OT in the playoffs since the 2015-16 change to 3-on-3 in the regular season; postseason formats do not include shootouts and do not end early unless a goal ends the game.[2]
- Notable trend: postseason overtime has produced several marathon games, with multiple instances of double and even triple overtime in recent seasons; this underscores the emphasis on genuine sudden-death stakes rather than a shootout.[3][4]
If you want, I can pull more specific items (e.g., recent playoff overtime incidents or longest postseason OT games) and summarize them with sources.