Rules Of Live Hockey

By Author: Kim Patti
Total Articles: 4
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Watching a sport is always more fun and easier to follow if you completely understand the rules. This is true of any sport, but is particularly the case with ice hockey where the rules can be somewhat complicated to follow. In live hockey the rules are also more complicated due to commercial breaks and other such interruptions. Bellow we will discuss some of the rules to help you enjoy watching NHL Online.

When you think of watching Live Hockey, the game you'll usually be watching will be National Hockey League Ice Hockey. NHL hockey follows most of the same rules as normal hockey but differs slightly from those rules used by organisations such as the Olympics. Furthermore, the televised nature of live hockey has resulted in some other rules being introduced for timing purpose etc. In National Hockey League hockey, teams have 18 seconds to substitute and change players during stoppages. This is split into five seconds for the visiting team, eight for the home team and five seconds to line up in correct location). This is not the case during TV timeouts however - already demonstrating one area in which live hockey is forced ...
... to alter the rules. Another example is the TV timeout. These are two minutes long and occur three times in a period. These occur at six, ten and fourteen minute marks of each period except in power plays, when goals are scored, or a stoppage occurs as the result of icing. Every team can also take an additional 30 second timeout at any point during a normal stoppage.

The hockey rink (where the players play) is a rectangular area with rounded corners surrounded by transparent walls referred to as 'boards'. The rink is 200 feet by 85 feet in NHL (this varies depending on the organisation) while international standards require a rink 200 feet by 98 feet. A centre line then divides this ice in half vertically and is used to judge icing violations. Furthermore two blue lines divide the rink into thirds and create zones. At each end there is the goal line which is the width of the ice. This is used to judge goals.

Since the 2005-06 season the goals have changed shape to trapezoids. The goalie is only allowed to play the puck behind their goal line and not within the trapezoid (punishable by 2 minute penalty). It is of course the aim of the goalie to defend the goal and this line.

A goal is scored when the goalie fails to do so and the puck crosses the line to enter the net. However under certain circumstances the goal will be disallowed. For example:
* If the scoring team takes a penalty
* If the puck is directed using a high point on the stick (so that it was more batted)
* A goaltender interfered
* The puck went in after the referee ceased play, resulting in a stoppage.
* The puck is deflected off of a linesman or referee

Now when you watch NHL Live Online or on cable, you should have a better idea as to what is going on and what the reasons are behind the various stoppages.