There isn't much that is more exciting in a regular season NHL game than the 3-on-3 overtime period. Five minutes filled with mostly the best players on two teams with tons of open ice to play with.
Overtime periods are filled with ups and downs and breakaways everywhere you turn; it really is just entertaining hockey. If a game is still tied after the five-minute OT period, the game is settled in a shootout. It's fun to see certain players come up with creative moves in the shootout, but let's be real: It's a lot better to see the game ended in more of a traditional way.
Thankfully, when it comes to the playoffs, everything is different — from the amount of skaters, to time, to shootouts. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers already know this all too well; the first two games of their wildly entertaining Stanley Cup Finals series went to overtime, with the teams splitting the pair in Edmonton.
And if two is good, three is even better. That's right: Game 4 has gone to overtime as well, with a rollicking, back-and-forth affair tied at four goals apiece at the end of regulation. It looked like Florida was about to run Edmonton out of the building with three first-period goals that prompted to Oilers to pull goalie Stuart Skinner, but Connor McDavid and Co. bounced back with three unanswered tallies in the second.
Now we're headed for bonus hockey, with a Stanley Cup potentially on the line. If Florida wins, they'd take a commanding 3-1 series lead. If the Oilers dig deep, the series heads back to Edmonton tied at 2-2. Here's how this game will be decided.
Explaining NHL's playoff overtime rules
In the postseason, OT is conducted as if it's a regular game. Periods are 20 minutes long, and it's played at 5-on-5. The only change is that one goal ends the game: Whether that comes 20 seconds in or 19 minutes in, that's the final goal that will be scored.
If no goals are scored in the first 20-minute overtime period, there will be a second overtime. The rules for that overtime are exactly the same as the first. Again, no matter what, one goal ends the game.
The game does not end until a goal is scored. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning learned that the hard way when they played a 5-OT game back in 2020. Brayden Point won that game with a goal midway through that fifth overtime to give Tampa Bay a win.
There have been many memorable overtime games in the playoffs because of how pressure-packed it is. One goal can not only swing a game, but potentially an entire series. Playoff overtimes are a true test of stamina and depth, and are just so exciting to watch.