What is icing?

The centre red line divides the ice into halves. Icing is called when a player on a team that is equal or superior in numbers (for example on a power play) shoots, bats or deflects the puck from his own half of the ice beyond the opposing team's goal line. Play is stopped.

• A team can nullify a potential icing by "gaining the line": the puck, while on a player's stick (not his skate), must make contact with the centre red line.
• The Linesperson first decides the puck will cross the goal line, then decides which player would touch it first, no later than the instant the first player reaches the end zone face-off dots. The skate is the determining factor. If the race is too close to call by then, icing is called.
• After an icing, the attacking team chooses which end zone face-off dot the face-off takes place on.
• If the Linesperson wrongly called icing, the face-off is at centre ice.

Source: NHL Official Rules 2026-2027, Rule 81.