Hockey 101: Class Is In Session

Welcome to Hat Trick University! We’re so happy you’re here and ready to learn about our favorite sport. If you’re entirely new to hockey or know just a little bit, here are all the basics that you need to know before the season starts. This primer is based off of the National Hockey League (NHL) which is the men’s professional league in North America, but there will be mentions of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) throughout.

**Listen to this week’s episode version of this article here**

Positions

There are three different positions in hockey: forward, defense and goaltender. Within the forward position, players can be a center, left or right wing. Some players can interchange between the center and winger positions as well. For the defenders, they either play on the left or right hand side. And the goaltender, of course, is always positioned within the net at the end of the ice. During a game, each team will have three forwards, two defenders and one goaltender on the ice at all times (penalties permitting) making it 10 skaters on the ice and 12 players all together.

A team’s roster is made up of 23 players and the players are organized in lines for each game. Each team sets their four lines of forwards, three pairs of defenders and two goaltenders (starter and backup). Every line typically takes a shift of about 30-45 seconds before coming back to the bench and changing. defenders usually play slightly more than forwards because there are less of them and sometimes they play over 30 minutes a game. At the end of each game, every player’s time on ice is totalled up which is a culmination of time across all their shifts.

Game Structure

In the NHL, the games are made up of three 20-minute periods with an 18-minute intermission in between. If the game is still tied after regulation (three periods), the game goes to a five minute, sudden death overtime. In overtime, each team can only put out three players and can choose who goes on the ice such as two forwards and one defender or one forward and two defenders. The first team to score a goal is the winner.

If the score is still tied after the overtime period, the game then goes to a shootout. In a shootout, each team gets at least three chances to score a goal. The structure of the shootout is that one player starts at center ice and takes the puck down to try and score on the opposing team’s goaltender. Any skater (forward or defender) is eligible to be sent out for the shootout. If one team scores more goals than the other in the first three attempts, the game is over. If not, the shootout continues until one team has scored one more goal than the other. Any goals scored in the shootout don’t count towards the final score. If the score going into the shootout is 4-4 and there are three shootout goals scored, the final score is 5-4. Shootout goals also don’t count towards a player’s overall goal total on the stat sheet as it is a separate category.

There are a variety of penalties that can occur throughout a game and several reasons for stoppages in play. The NHL rulebook has in depth details and explanations for every penalty that can be called along with why there might be a stoppage in play.

League Structure

The NHL is made up of 32 teams across the United States and Canada. Seven teams are based in Canada and the other 25 are based in the U.S. The 32 teams are split into two conferences: the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Within each conference, there are two divisions. In the East, there are the Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions. In the West, there are the Central and Pacific Divisions. Each division is made up of eight teams so each conference is home to a total of 16 teams. Each team plays a total of 82 games a season (41 at home, 41 on the road) and all 32 teams will play each other at least one during the season.

To determine standings and the playoff picture, there is a point system in place. A win of any kind (regulation, overtime or shootout) is worth two points, an overtime or shootout loss is worth one point and a regulation loss is worth zero points. The top three teams in each division with the most points automatically make the playoffs while the rest fight for the two wild card spots that are available in each conference. If two teams have the same amount of points, there are various tiebreakers that can determine which team makes the playoffs or not. 

The PWHL’s point system is different from the NHL’s in a very obvious way. The PWHL operates on a 3-2-1-0 system which means regulation wins are worth three points, overtime wins are worth two points, overtime losses are worth one point and a regulation loss is worth zero points. So when looking at a team’s record in the NHL, you will only see three numbers while the PWHL team records will always have four numbers due to the different point systems.

Statistics

There are a lot of statistics in hockey which can get confusing the further you get into it. But the basic statistics for skaters (forwards and defenders) are goals, assists and points. A goal is exactly what it sounds like: when a player puts the puck in the net. An assist goes to the player who last touched the puck before the player who scored. There are two kinds of assists: a primary assist which goes to the player who passed the puck to the goal scorer and a secondary assist which goes to the player who passed it to the player who eventually passed it to the goal scorer. A player’s goals and assists are added together to get their points. Below is what a basic hockey season stat line looks like. 

(Nathan MacKinnon, 2024-2025 season)

Even though they are skater stats, goaltenders can in fact score goals and pick up assists, but they have a different set of stats that includes record (wins, losses, overtime/shootout losses), save percentage, goals against average and shutouts. 

We’ll be breaking down all different aspects of hockey throughout the season on the podcast, but let us know if there’s anything specific you’d like to learn about! No matter how much knowledge you have about hockey, you’re welcome here and that’s the most important part.