Salt Lake City (ABC4) — In April 2024, Utah welcomed its first state. national hockey league A team from Arizona came over after the game. The green light has been given to sell the team.transferring all of the team's assets to Utah Jazz owners Ryan Smith and Ashley Smith.
Season tickets went on sale April 18 ahead of the 2024-2025 season. Fans quickly reserved more seats Better than what Delta Center currently has available.
But since hockey is new to the Beehive State, some Utahns may not understand how the game works. We'll walk you through the basics of the game here so you'll be ready when the season is scheduled to start in October.
Below is information summarized from the official rulebook for the 2023-2024 NHL season. The entire 234-page document is found online.
How long is a hockey game?
The 20 minutes of gameplay is divided into three periods, with breaks between periods (18 minutes or another time specified by the league).
If the teams are tied at the end of the regular 20 minutes, the match may go into extra time not to exceed 5 minutes. The team that scores first is declared the winner and is awarded additional points.
How are points measured in the NHL?
A goal is scored when the puck is placed between the goal posts by an attacking player.
According to the rulebook, each goal counts as one point, and that point is awarded to the player who “pushes the puck into the opponent's goal.”
The rulebook states, “Only one point is awarded to a player for a goal.”
How many players does an NHL team have?
Each team consists of 20 players, 18 of whom are skaters and the remaining two are goalkeepers.
The rulebook states that a list of players' names must be submitted to the “official scorer.”
If an ineligible player (a player not on the list of players given to the scorer) is on the ice when a goal is scored, even if the ineligible player was not involved in the scoring of the goal. The goal becomes “invalid”.
position
There are two goaltenders, but only one can be on the ice at a time. According to the rulebook, substitute goalkeepers “must be fully equipped and ready to play at all times.”
Each team can appoint one captain, who can discuss rules questions with the referee during the match. Captains must wear a 3-inch letter “C” on the front of their sweaters and vice-captains are not allowed.
However, a team can have one captain and two alternate captains, or no captain and three alternate captains. An alternate captain must wear a 3-inch “A” on the front of his sweater and must be designated before the game.
If a player or acting captain comes off the bench to address the referee, a minor penalty may be given. Complaints regarding penalties are unrelated to rule interpretation and may result in minor penalties.
NHL game basics
According to the rulebook, the rink must be equipped with “appropriate sound equipment that automatically sounds” at the end of each 20-minute period.
A red light behind the goal post means a goal has been scored, and a green light means the period or game is over. If the light is green, you cannot score a goal.
The rulebook states that the clock in the link indicates “time remaining in play or service.”
There are penalties for fighting and other physical altercations. If a player is bleeding, they are not allowed to return to the game until the bleeding stops or the wound is covered.
“Affected equipment and uniforms are required to be appropriately decontaminated or replaced,” the rulebook states.
Type of penalty
- minor penalties
- Players (excluding goaltenders) are allowed off the ice for two minutes if there is no substitute.
- bench minor penalty
- The players were taken off the ice for two minutes.
- double minor penalty
- The players were refused to leave the ice for four minutes and no substitutions were allowed.
- accidental penalty
- accidental punishment
- Accidental Serious Penalty
- Penalty due to coincidence
- serious penalties
- Players are allowed off the ice for 5 minutes without being substituted.
- match penalty
- The player was suspended for reasons of “balance of play” and immediately sent to the locker room.
- It can be imposed on players who intentionally attempt to harm or actually harm an opponent.
- Penalties for misconduct
- Players (excluding goaltenders) are allowed off the ice for 10 minutes.
- Penalties for game cheating
- The player will be suspended due to the end of the match, but a replacement player may take part.
- penalty shot
- A penalty shot gives a team a scoring opportunity that was lost when the offending team committed an infraction.
If there are three players taking a penalty, the third player's penalty time does not start until the other two players' time has elapsed. The goalkeeper may also take a penalty, but often a substitute is allowed or another player can serve the penalty in the goalkeeper's place.
Penalties also apply if a player suffers a physical violation (such as fighting or hitting), a restraining violation (such as holding down or obstructing), a stick violation (including cross-checking or slashing), or other violations.
Basic Guidelines for NHL Links
The rink must be 200 feet long and 85 feet wide with rounded corners. The NHL's official 2023-2024 rulebook states, “Corners shall be rounded in an arc with a radius of twenty-eight (28) feet.”
The ice surface should be divided into three zones: a defensive zone, a neutral zone, and an offensive zone. The blue lines separate the links into their respective zones.
The defensive zone is the area where the team's goal is, the neutral zone is the center of the rink, and the attacking zone is the area furthest from the team's goal (where the opponent's goal is).
The rink also has an area called the “goal crease”, which includes a light blue filled semicircle in front of each goal post. The “umpire's crease” is a 10-foot radius red-lined semicircular area located in front of the penalty timekeeper's seat.
Each zone of the link has a circle. The neutral zone (the center of the rink) has a 15-foot radius blue circle surrounding a 12-inch diameter blue spot at the exact center of the rink.
The neutral zone also has a total of four solid red spots that are 2 feet in diameter. These spots are 5 feet apart from the blue line (two spots on each side) and 44 feet apart from each other.
Each end zone has two additional red faceoff spots (2 feet in diameter) surrounded by a 15 foot radius circle on either side of the goal.
