What is Shootout?

A tiebreaker where players take turns shooting one-on-one against the goaltender until one team scores more goals.

What this tells us

When a game is tied after overtime, each team gets three skaters to shoot alone at the opposing goaltender. If the score is still tied after those three rounds, sudden-death continues until one team scores and the other doesn't. The team that scores more goals wins the game.

Limitations

Shootout results don't count toward a player's regular goal total or a goaltender's save percentage — they're tracked separately. This means a goaltender's shootout skill (which requires different instincts than game play) isn't reflected in their season stats. Some fans and analysts argue shootouts don't reflect true team play since they're essentially penalty shots, not the result of five-on-five hockey.

Example

A team trailing 2–2 with 30 seconds left in overtime will go to a shootout if no one scores. The first team to score more goals in their three rounds wins 3–2, even though the game was tied when overtime ended.