NOT my work ... sourced elsewhere ... NHL vs. International (Olympic) hockey:
OT and Shootout:
Olympic OT is 4v4. In the Olympics, tied preliminary games have 5 minute OT. Non-gold medal tournament games have a 10 minute OT. The gold medal game features a full 20 minute OT. If the game remains tied, it is decided by a shootout. If the game remains tied after the first three shooters, any player can be chosen to shoot any number of times.
Ice Size:
A standard rink in North America is 200 feet long and 85 feet wide, with goal lines 11 feet from the end boards. Both venues feature rinks that are 60m by 30m(196.85ft by 98.4252ft). Goal lines are 13 feet from the end boards. The extra room can sometimes lead a team to play a more passive positional defense, angling attackers away from the goal rather than pursuing the puck carrier.
Bench Strength:
NHL teams can dress a maximum of 18 skaters and two goaltenders for a game. International games allow a maximum of 20 skaters and two goaltenders on each team.
Goalies with the Puck:
Under NHL rules, goaltenders cannot handle the puck behind the goal line, except in an area directly behind the net. Goaltenders in international hockey can play the puck anywhere behind the net.
Icing:
International hockey uses no touch icing.
Protecting the Head:
International hockey calls checking to the head as a minor penalty with a ten-minute misconduct, or a major (5 minute) penalty with a game misconduct.
Penalty Shots:
In the NHL, the player who was the victim of a foul must take the penalty shot, unless he is injured. When a penalty shot is called during international or Olympic hockey, any player on the shooting team, who was on the ice at the time of the infraction, may be selected to take it.
Crease Violations:
NHL players are allowed to stand in the goal crease as long as they don't interfere with the goaltender. International referees will blow the whistle and move the faceoff out of the attacking zone if an attacking player is standing in the crease.
Fighting:
NHL players are penalized five minutes for fighting. Players fighting in international or Olympic hockey receive a match penalty and are ejected from the game.
Rules Against Obstruction:
Since the NHL's crackdown on obstruction in 2005, some international tournaments have featured more hooking, holding and interference than an average NHL game. The international standard and NHL standard remain out of step.
Faceoffs:
In International rules, the attacking center must put their stick down first and the ref drops the puck after blowing the whistle and allowing for 15 seconds whether both players are ready or not. In NHL rules, the visiting center must put their stick to the ice first and the referee drops the puck when both players are ready.
Goalie Takes a Puck to the Mask:
In international hockey, should a hard shot hit the goalkeeper’s face mask while play is in progress, play shall be stopped immediately (an immediate and impending scoring opportunity shall be permitted before stopping play).
Helmet Loss:
In international hockey, if a player loses his helmet during game action, the player must go to the bench.
Timeouts:
In both versions each team has one 30 second timeout. The NHL has three 120 second commercial timeouts per period. The Olympics do no not have commercial timeouts.
Tournament Format:
Each team will play three games in the preliminary round to determine seeding for the next round. A team gets three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss, and no points for a regulation defeat. Four teams then will get a bye through the first playoff round: The best record in each of the three groups, as well as the best second-place team. The eight teams without a bye will face each other in single elimination. Finally, the four teams with byes and the four winners of the initial playoff rounds will be seeded in four quarterfinal match-ups. That will begin a single-elimination run to the gold medal, requiring three consecutive victories from that point.
_________________ Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness. - Henry George
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