NHL playoff overtime rules: Postseason hockey bracket changes OT format
NHL playoff overtime rules: Postseason hockey bracket changes OT format
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Are Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup bound? Former NHLer weighs in
Former NHL winger Riley Cote explains what he loves about this Edmonton Oilers team ahead of the Western Conference Finals.
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The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs are underway, bringing a major change in the overtime format.
No more three-on-three play, no more shootouts after five minutes of scoreless play, as happens during regular-season overtime. There is sudden death, but it could last a very long time.
Witness the 2023 playoffs. The Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final in a game that lasted nearly a full four overtime periods. It came close to going to a fifth overtime, but Florida's Matthew Tkachuk scored the winner with 12.7 seconds left in the period. It was the sixth-longest playoff game in NHL history.
So far in the 2025 NHL playoffs, 18 games have gone to overtime, including three double-overtime games.
Here's a primer on playoff hockey overtime:
How does OT work in NHL playoffs
If the score is tied after three periods, the teams go to the dressing rooms for 15 minutes while the ice is resurfaced. Overtime periods last 20 minutes or until someone scores. It's five-on-five play (barring penalties). If no one scores in the first overtime, the process repeats and continues until someone scores. The teams change sides for each overtime period. The first overtime is the long change to get back to the bench.
The NHL Situation Room reviews all goals to make sure they are legally scored. In last year's Stars-Avalanche series, the league upheld a no-goal call on an apparent score by Dallas' Mason Marchment because referees ruled Matt Duchene had interfered with then-Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev. Duchene later scored the winning goal.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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 2003 conference semifinals. Anaheim 4, Dallas 3. Petr Sykora scored the winner.
(80 minutes, 48 seconds of overtime) in the 2003 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.
Longest Stanley Cup Final games
Eight Stanley Cup Final games have gone to the third overtime. The Edmonton Oilers were part of the longest game when Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime for a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins in the 1990 Final.
2025 NHL playoff overtime goals
May 17: Dallas' Thomas Harley scored at 1:33 of the first overtime for a 2-1 Stars win against the Jets.
May 14: Edmonton's Kasperi Kapanen scored at 7:19 of the first overtime for a 1-0 Oilers win against the Golden Knights.
May 9: Florida's Brad Marchand scored at 15:27 of the first overtime for a 5-4 Panthers win against the Maple Leafs.
May 8: Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl scored at 15:20 of the first overtime for a 5-4 Oilers win against the Golden Knights.
May 6: Carolina's Jaccob Slavin scored at 3:06 of the first overtime for a 2-1 Hurricanes win against the Capitals.
May 4: Winnipeg's Adam Lowry scored at 16:10 of the second overtime for a 4-3 Jets win against the Blues.
April 29: Vegas' Brett Howden scored at 15:55 of the first overtime for a 3-2 Golden Knights win against the Wild.
April 29: Carolina's Sebastian Aho scored at 15:43 of the second overtime for a 5-4 Hurricanes win against the Devils.
April 27: Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl scored at 18:18 of the first overtime for a 4-3 Oilers win against the Kings.
April 26: Vegas' Ivan Barbashev scored at 17:26 of the first overtime for a 4-3 Golden Knights win against the Wild.
April 26: Ottawa's Jake Sanderson scored at 17:42 of the first overtime for a 4-3 Senators win against the Maple Leafs.
April 25: New Jersey's Simon Nemec scored at 2:36 of the second overtime for a 3-2 Devils win against the Hurricanes.
April 24: Toronto's Simon Benoit scored at 1:19 of the first overtime for a 3-2 Maple Leafs win against the Senators.
April 23: Dallas' Tyler Seguin scored at 5:26 of the first overtime for a 2-1 Stars win against the Avalanche.
April 22: Toronto's Max Domi scored at 16:51 of the first overtime for a 3-2 Maple Leafs win against the Senators.
April 21: Dallas' Colin Blackwell scored at 17:46 of the first overtime for a 4-3 Stars win against the Avalanche.
April 21: Washington's Alex Ovechkin scored at 2:26 of the first overtime for a 3-2 Capitals win against the Canadiens.
Which players in 2025 postseason have the most playoff overtime goals?
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Haliburton has just one clutch turnover this postseason in 33 minutes of action and a whopping eight assists. Andrew Nembhard has three assists and one turnover. Pascal Siakam also has an assist, with no turnovers. Individually, that's 12 turnovers to just two assists (they also had one team turnover). Contrast that assist-to-turnover ratio in the clutch with the New York Knicks, who logged 13 assists to 14 turnovers in their 49 minutes of clutch action. The exquisite ball-handling for the Pacers has kept teams like the Knicks and Thunder at bay in crunchtime. How good are they as a team in these clutch situations? Glad you asked … 8. The Pacers are 8-1 in clutch games this postseason The only loss came against the Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals after KAT rattled off 20 points in the fourth quarter. Advertisement Other than that? The Pacers haven't been beaten in eight games that entered the league's official clutch zone (game within five points in the final five minutes). They stole two from Milwaukee, three from Cleveland and one each in the last two rounds. Eight wins and just one loss in these nerve-wrecking games. How good is that record? There have been 73 teams since the 1998 playoffs that have played in at least nine 'clutch' games. The Pacers' .889 win percentage in those close games is the best record for any of them. It tops the 1998 Bulls and the 2007 Spurs, who went 9-2 (.818) in their respective title runs. The Pacers have been more victorious in these tight games than the Hall of Fame rosters of the Warriors, the Kobe-Shaq Lakers and the LeBron squads that went to eight straight Finals. Advertisement Before this run, could you say there were any surefire Hall of Famers on this Pacers roster? That might change if they win this whole thing … Is Indiana the most clutch team we've ever seen? The data points to one answer: Yes 'Cers. 9. Three of the seven biggest playoff comebacks since 1996 belong to the Pacers. All in this postseason. Per 's win probability charts, the Pacers have won three games this postseason when they had, at one point or another, 1-in-434 or longer odds to win based on clock, score and possession. In the Eastern Conference finals Game 1, the Pacers had just a 0.05 percent chance of winning (1-in-1999 to be precise) in the fourth quarter when they were down 14 with 3:44 left. They won 138-135. In Game 2 against the Cavs, Cleveland enjoyed a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left, leaving the Pacers with a measly 0.21 percent chance of winning. The Pacers won 120-119. In the closeout game against Milwaukee in the first round, they pulled off a similar miracle, turning around a seven-point deficit with 43 seconds left, bottoming out at 0.23 percent odds to win. The Pacers won 119-118. Advertisement The craziest part? The OKC reversal on Thursday night doesn't even make the cut. In Game 1 of the Finals, the Pacers faced just a 2.3 percent chance of pulling off the upset, down nine with 2:52 remaining in the game. Of course, they won 111-110 after Haliburton's clutch jumper. That's the sixth-largest comeback of this postseason. The top three, you guessed it, belong to the Pacers. So, to recap, the Pacers won games in which they had just a 0.05 percent chance, 0.21 percent chance, a 0.23 percent chance and a 2.3 percent chance. To pull off one of those wins is a miracle. But to do all four? If you do the math … 10. At their lowest points, the Pacers had 1-in-17 billion odds to win all four games of Game 5 vs. Bucks, Game 2 vs. Cavs, Game 1 vs. Knicks and Game 1 vs. OKC. That means if we ran those four games again, at their lowest points, 17 billion times, we'd only see it happen once. Advertisement And we were alive to see it. How's that for clutch?
