Hockey Terminology Glossary: 60+ NHL Terms Explained

Hockey terminology is the shared vocabulary of official rule words (icing, offside, power play, crease) and player slang (deke, dangle, five-hole) that describe every stoppage, strategy, and stat in ice hockey. Whether you’re watching your first NHL broadcast or trying to make sense of a box score, this glossary breaks down every essential term by category so nothing slows you down.

Rink and Game Structure Terms

Before the penalties and shots make sense, you need the geography and the clock.

• Period — One of three 20-minute segments of regulation play. See how many periods are in a hockey game for the full breakdown of regulation, overtime, and shootouts.
• Zones — The rink is split into a defensive zone, neutral zone, and offensive zone, separated by two blue lines.
• Faceoff — How play restarts: two opposing players battle for a puck dropped by an official at one of nine faceoff dots.
• Overtime — Extra time played when regulation ends tied. The NHL regular season uses 3-on-3 sudden death; the playoffs use full 5-on-5 sudden-death periods with no shootout.
• Shootout — A skills-competition tiebreaker used only in the regular season, where players take alternating penalty shots after overtime ends scoreless.
• Hub reading: for the full sport overview, visit our Ice Hockey / NHL hub.

Rules and Violation Terms

These are the words you’ll hear every time a referee’s whistle blows.

Term	What It Means
Icing	Shooting the puck from your own half across the opponent’s goal line untouched; play stops and resets in your zone.
Offside	An attacking player enters the offensive zone ahead of the puck.
Crease	The blue semicircle in front of each net where goaltenders get extra protection from contact — full explainer at what is the crease in hockey.
High-sticking	Making contact with an opponent above shoulder height with the stick blade; see what is high sticking in hockey for penalty details.
Cross-checking	Checking an opponent using the shaft of the stick held in both hands; read the full rule at what is cross-checking in hockey.
Minor penalty	A two-minute penalty served in the box, most often for tripping, hooking, or slashing.
Major penalty	A five-minute penalty for more serious infractions like fighting or boarding.
Penalty shot	A free attempt on an empty defense, awarded for specific fouls like a breakaway takedown.

Shooting and Offensive Terms

Scoring vocabulary covers everything from the wind-up to the finish.

• Slap shot — The hardest, most powerful shot in hockey, generated by winding up and driving the stick through the ice and puck; see what is a slap shot in hockey for mechanics.
• One-timer — Shooting a pass directly without first receiving and controlling the puck, prized for its quick release; full detail at what is a one-timer in hockey.
• Wrist shot and snap shot — Quicker, more accurate releases than a slap shot; part of the broader shot family covered in types of shots in hockey.
• Deke — A puck-handling fake meant to get a defender or goalie moving the wrong way; see what is a deke in hockey for examples.
• Breakaway — A clear scoring chance where an attacker has beaten every defender except the goaltender.
• Five-hole — The gap between a goaltender’s pads; a common shooting target.
• Hat trick — Three goals by the same player in one game.
• Empty net goal — A goal scored after the trailing team pulls its goaltender for an extra attacker, leaving the net undefended; see what is an empty net goal in hockey for strategy.

Team Strategy and Positioning Terms

These describe how teams attack and defend as units, not just individual plays.

• Forechecking — Pressuring the puck carrier in the offensive zone to force a turnover before they can set up; full breakdown at what is forechecking in hockey.
• Backchecking — Forwards sprinting back to help defend after losing possession, usually to slow an opponent’s rush; see what is backchecking in hockey.
• Neutral zone trap — A defensive system that clogs the middle of the ice to force turnovers before opponents reach the offensive zone; explained fully at what is the neutral zone trap in hockey.
• Power play — The man-advantage situation created when an opponent is in the penalty box.
• Penalty kill — The shorthanded team’s effort to prevent a goal while a teammate serves a penalty.
• Pinch — A defenseman skating deep into the offensive zone to keep the puck in, risking a odd-man rush if it fails.

Stats and Scoring Terms

Box scores lean on a handful of abbreviations you’ll want memorized.

• Goal (G) — A puck fully crossing the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar.
• Assist (A) — Credit given to up to two teammates who touched the puck on the sequence leading to a goal.
• Plus-minus (+/-) — A rating that rises when a player is on ice for an even-strength or shorthanded goal for their team, and falls when the opponent scores.
• Save percentage (SV%) — The share of shots on goal a goaltender stops.
• Power-play percentage (PP%) — How often a team converts its man-advantage chances into goals.

Quick-Reference Glossary Table

Term	Category	One-Line Definition
Icing	Rule	Puck shot the length of the ice untouched
Offside	Rule	Attacker enters the zone ahead of the puck
Crease	Rink	Blue semicircle protecting the goaltender
Power play	Strategy	Man-advantage after an opponent’s penalty
Forecheck	Strategy	Offensive-zone pressure to win the puck
Backcheck	Strategy	Forwards defending on the way back
Neutral zone trap	Strategy	Mid-ice defensive system
Deke	Skill	Puck-handling fake move
Slap shot	Shooting	Hardest, wind-up shot
One-timer	Shooting	Shot taken directly off a pass
Five-hole	Shooting	Gap between the goalie’s pads
Empty net goal	Scoring	Goal scored with the goalie pulled
Hat trick	Scoring	Three goals by one player, one game
Plus-minus	Stats	On-ice goal differential rating

Knowing this vocabulary turns a confusing whistle-fest into a game you can actually follow play by play — and it’s the same language you’ll need for every strategy and rules explainer in our Ice Hockey / NHL hub.