Investigating the conclusion time of a hockey game commencing at 5 PM is essential for fans and spectators. Explore variables impacting game duration to anticipate typical end times for a comprehensive understanding.
If a hockey game starts at 5 what time will it end?
If a hockey game starts at 5, it will end at 7:37 PM. This is based on the average length of regular season NHL games in 2023, as well as the average delay in games relative to their scheduled start times.
The shortest regular season game in 2023 was 2 hours and 10 minutes long while the longest game was 3 hours and 2 minutes long.
If A Hockey Game Starts At 5 What Time Will It End?
If a hockey game starts at 5, it will end at 7:37. In other words, from start to finish, NHL games are 2 hours and 37 minutes long. This is based on two factors:
- The average length of regular season NHL games:
- 2 hours and 29 minutes
- The average delay in NHL games:
- 8 minutes
Outside of the NHL, it is impossible to determine how long a hockey game will be. This is because different leagues use different period lengths and even period schemes. However, almost all hockey games outside of the NHL will be shorter than the NHL average. This is because the NHL features numerous ice resurfacings, commercial breaks, and inter-periodical intermissions – something that most other leagues do not have.
Average NHL Game Length
The average length of an NHL game is 2 hours and 29 minutes for the regular season, and 2 hours and 44 minutes for playoffs; this is from the moment the puck drops to when the final whistle is blown – start to finish.
There is a relatively large spread on how short or long a game can be. The shortest game in 2023 was 2 hours and 10 minutes long while the longest game was 3 hours and 2 minutes long, a difference of nearly one hour.
Overall, you can expect all NHL games to be between two to three hours long, with the average being two and a half hours.
Average Delay In NHL Games
Most NHL games start 8 minutes after their scheduled puck drops. So, if a game starts at 5, it will start at 5:08.
So, if a hockey game starts at 5, it will actually start at 5:08, and finish at around 7:37 PM. A general rule of thumb is as follows – to determine when an NHL hockey game will end:
Start time + Two and a half hours
If A Playoff Game Starts At 5 What Time Will It End?
If a playoff game starts at 5, it will end at around 7:44 PM.
On average, playoff games are 15 minutes longer than regular season games; they are roughly 2 hours and 44 minutes long. However, playoff game lengths vary a lot more than regular season games.
Playoff games have the potential to go very long because there is no limit on the number of overtimes that can be played. Regular season games are confined to 1 overtime that has the potential to proceed to 1 shootout. However, playoff games can go to the first overtime, then the second, then the third, and so on.
In the graph above, you will notice one data point far off to the right – to the right of 5.5 hours on the x-axis. That data point is the infamous game played between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers in the 2023 playoffs.
The game between the Hurricanes and Panthers went to quadruple overtime (4OT), starting at 8:10 PM and finishing at 1:54 AM. The game was 12 seconds away from going to 5th overtime before Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal. It stands as the 6th longest game in NHL history.
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