The golden goal rule comes into use at the end of regulation of every National Hockey League game where the score is tied. In the regular season, five minutes of three-on-three sudden-death overtime are played, with the first goal winning the game. If, however, neither team scores after this period, a shootout determines the winner. In playoff games, shootouts are not used; 20-minute periods of five-on-five hockey are played until a goal is scored to end the game. This has resulted in extremely long contests, such as the "Easter Epic", a playoff series-deciding match which ended in the midst of its fourth overtime. The term "golden goal" is not a commonly used term in hockey, rather the winning goal is known as an "overtime winner" or "overtime goal," while the format is known as "sudden death" in the NHL and "sudden victory" in college.
The Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament used the golden goal rule only in the gold medal game, with a 20-minute period of 5-on-5. The game ended if a goal is scored; otherwise, a penalty shootout determined the winner. This method was used to determine the 2010 men's final, where Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal 7:40 into overtime. As that goal won Canada the Gold Medal, it has become known as "The Golden Goal." Another happened at the 2014 women's final, as Marie-Philip Poulin scored at 8:10 of overtime for Canada. In both instances, the team they beat was the United States. The two teams met in the rematch four years later, and lasted the whole 20-minute overtime without a goal before the United States prevailed in a shootout for their first gold in 20 years. Jocelyne Lamoureux scored in the sixth round of the shootout while Meghan Agosta failed. Kirill Kaprizov scored at 9:40 of overtime as the Russian Olympic Committee beat Germany in the 2018 men's final. Since 2022, the overtime procedure changed to multiple 20-minute periods of 3-on-3, until one team scores, and applies to both genders.