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Hockey rules, goaltending and simulation

Hockey’s rules shape how a team is built. Icing keeps a side from simply clearing the puck the length of the ice, penalties create power plays and penalty kills, and lines change throughout a game, so depth matters as much as a top unit. The lineup on the ice is a centre, two wingers, two defencemen and a goaltender, and so much of a result runs through the goaltender that the position gets its own guide and its own calculator here.

Two of our apps look at the sport from different seats. 84-0 Hockey Draft & GM Manager has you fill a starting six and choose a coach, then projects the lineup’s record over 84 games, with a Franchise GM Mode for the longer project. Hockey Career Sim 2026 follows one skater or goalie through training, contracts, seasons and playoff runs. These guides explain the rules and numbers first and say where a simulator simplifies them.

Our hockey apps

84-0 Hockey Draft & GM Manager is about the lineup: centre, both wings, two defence slots and goal, plus the coach, judged by a projected 84-game record, with Unlimited and Limited drafts and a Franchise GM Mode that runs across seasons. Hockey Career Sim 2026 is about one player: a forward, centre, defenceman or goalie whose skating, shooting, positioning or goaltending develops through training while you make the calls that move momentum in a game.

Where to start

  • Learn the rules that shape every shift

    Icing decides where play restarts, and penalties decide when a team plays short-handed. Start with the icing explainer and the power play guide, then the positions guide.

  • Read goaltending numbers carefully

    Save percentage is measured per shot and goals-against average per 60 minutes, so a busy or a quiet defence can flatter or punish either one. The save percentage calculator computes both from a stat line.

  • Build lines, not just a roster

    The line combinations guide, plus-minus and the special teams guide explain why coaches keep shuffling the same players and why a roster with thin spots is exposed over a long season.

Start here

Rules and how the sport works

Statistics and what they measure

Strategy, tactics and team-building

Getting more from the simulators

Guides for any sport

These use our hockey apps as the example, but the ideas apply to every sport. More are collected on the sports index.

Calculators

Good to know

Ice hockey: common questions

What is the difference between 84-0 Hockey Draft & GM Manager and Hockey Career Sim 2026?
84-0 Hockey Draft & GM Manager is a draft and general-manager game: you fill centre, both wings, two defence slots and goal, choose a coach, and the simulator projects an 84-game record, with Franchise GM Mode for multiple seasons. Hockey Career Sim 2026 is a career simulator: you play one forward, centre, defenceman or goalie from prospect through contracts, seasons and playoff runs.
How is goals-against average calculated?
Goals allowed, divided by minutes played, multiplied by 60 — the length of a regulation game. Save percentage is saves divided by shots against. The save percentage calculator works out both.
Can you play as a goalie in Hockey Career Sim 2026?
Yes. You can play as a forward, centre, defenceman or goalie, and goaltending is one of the attributes that develops through training.
Where should a newcomer to these guides start?
With hockey positions explained and the icing explainer, then the hockey draft simulator guide and the goaltending guide.
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