NHL 4 Nations Face-Off rules: Is Tournament played differently from NHL games?

The NHL's inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off begins on Wednesday with the rare international tournament that will replace the traditional league All-Star weekend format. Fans can look forward to watching their favorite stars gather to team up for their respective countries and take on rival nations.

NHL players haven't been able to participate in the Winter Olympics since 2014 in Sochi, Russia so this will be a preview of sorts for what's to come next February in Milan-Cortina.

But what can hockey fans expect from this unusual tournament? Will the games operate under the same rules we're all used to? Well, we've got some answers for you.

The 4 Nations Face-Off will use all but 3 NHL rules

The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament begins Feb. 12 and will run through Feb. 20 with games nearly each day. There will be a round-robin with each country playing each other once. The two teams with the most points by the end of that round will advance to the championship game.

Now, in the NHL teams earn two points per win (regulation or overtime), one point for an overtime loss and none for a loss of any kind. However, in the 4 Nations Face-Off, teams will earn three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win and one point for an overtime/shootout loss. That's just one of three rules that the tournament will differ from the NHL regular season.

Additionally, to make things even more complicated, the overtime rules will be different at two different points in the tournament. During the round-robin portion, sudden-death overtime will last 10 minutes before heading to a shootout compared to the traditional five in the NHL regular season.

But once the tournament reaches the championship game, the overtime period will shift to NHL playoff rules. That means teams will play an entire 20-minute period until someone scores. If nobody scores by the end of that extra period, then additional 20-minute overtimes will be played until a winner is determined.

Despite the slight departure from what NHL fans are used to, the tournament is sure to offer the same amount of excitement if not more with the league's biggest stars coming together for team and country.