How long is an ice hockey game?
An ice hockey game has three periods of 20 minutes of playing time, for 60 minutes in total. Because the clock stops often, a professional game usually lasts about two and a half hours.
The game clock stops whenever play stops, such as for goals, penalties, offside calls or when the puck goes out of play. There are intermissions of about 15 to 18 minutes between periods, during which the ice is resurfaced by a machine called a Zamboni.
If a regular-season NHL game is tied after 60 minutes, teams play a 5-minute overtime with three skaters each. If it is still tied, a shootout decides the winner. In the playoffs, there are no shootouts. Teams play full 20-minute overtime periods with five skaters until someone scores.
Marathon games
Playoff overtime can last a very long time. The longest NHL game ever, in 1936 between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons, went into a sixth overtime period, with a total of about 176 minutes of play.
Did You Know?
International and Olympic hockey follow similar timing, with three 20-minute periods.