Pulling the goalie in hockey gives a trailing team an extra attacker on the ice by substituting the goaltender for a forward or defenceman, creating a 6-on-5 numerical advantage in the final minutes of a game.
It’s one of the most exciting — and genuinely high-stakes — decisions a coach makes all season. The net sits wide open. The clock is bleeding out. And the math says it just might work.
TL;DR
- Teams pull their goalie to gain a 6-on-5 offensive advantage when trailing late in a game
- It works roughly 14–15% of the time when trailing by one goal
- Analytics suggest pulling the goalie much earlier than tradition dictates — as early as 6 minutes left
- A delayed penalty is another smart moment to pull the goalie, essentially risk-free
- Empty net goals against are the primary downside; a regulation loss counts the same whether it ends 2-1 or 4-1
Key Takeaways
- Why do Hockey Teams pull the Goalie?
- The core reason: Pulling the goalie turns a 5-on-5 game into a 6-on-5, mimicking the advantages of a power play
- It’s been around since 1931: Art Ross of the Boston Bruins was the first NHL coach to pull his goalie in a game
- The 15% rule: Teams trailing by one goal score to tie roughly 14–15% of the time after pulling their goalie
- Analytics say pull earlier: A 2018 study by Cliff Asness found teams should pull their goalie with 6 minutes 10 seconds left when down by one — far earlier than the traditional last-minute pull
- Delayed penalty = free pull: When the opposing team takes a penalty, you can pull your goalie with almost no risk until the penalized team touches the puck
- In the standings, 2-1 = 4-1: A regulation loss earns zero points regardless of the margin, which is exactly why coaches are willing to gamble
What “Pulling the Goalie” Actually Means
Pulling the goalie means the goaltender skates to the bench and is replaced by a sixth skater — usually a forward. The net is left completely unguarded. The NHL rulebook allows up to six players on the ice at one time; it doesn’t require one of them to be a goalie.
Teams typically do this in the last one to two minutes of regulation when they’re trailing by one or two goals. Every second counts, and an extra attacker can create the mismatch needed to manufacture a scoring chance.
The move creates a 6-on-5 scenario. Think of it as a self-generated power play — except the other team can end it by simply shooting the length of the ice.
The History Behind the Strategy
The first documented goalie pull in NHL history happened on March 26, 1931. Art Ross, then coach of the Boston Bruins, sent goaltender Tiny Thompson to the bench with less than a minute left in a tie game during the Stanley Cup Semifinals against the Chicago Black Hawks. The Bruins didn’t score, and they lost in overtime.
It took decades for the move to become standard practice. Milt Schmidt was the first NHL coach to pull his goaltender during a delayed penalty call — a strategic innovation that changed how the tactic was used entirely.
Today, pulling the goalie is a universal part of hockey at every level, from recreational leagues all the way up to the NHL playoffs.
The 3 Main Situations When Hockey Teams Pull Their Goalie
Trailing by One or Two Goals Late in Regulation
This is the classic scenario. With the clock winding down and a regulation loss looming, coaches make the call to pull their goalie and flood the zone with attackers.
A regulation loss earns zero points in the NHL standings — whether the final score is 2-1 or 4-1. That single fact is the core logic behind the move. There’s no mathematical reason not to try.
The risk, of course, is that the other team puts one in the empty net. Opponents scored 446 empty-net goals in the 2023–24 NHL season, according to NHL.com. But for a team that’s already losing, an extra goal against simply doesn’t change the outcome.
On a Delayed Penalty Call
This is the smartest — and most underused — version of the goalie pull, especially at lower levels of the game.
When the opposing team takes a penalty, the referee raises his arm but doesn’t blow the whistle until the penalized team touches the puck. Until that happens, the team that earned the penalty can’t be scored on. This creates a window where pulling the goalie is essentially risk-free.
Smart coaches and players use this moment to add a sixth attacker for a few seconds of 6-on-5 play, then retrieve the goalie once the whistle blows. Understanding icing rules in hockey is important here too — a shorthanded team can ice the puck freely, which can interrupt the advantage if you’re not prepared.
In “Must-Score” Playoff Elimination Scenarios
In do-or-die playoff games, coaches sometimes pull their goalie earlier than normal — even when down by two or three goals — because the alternative is elimination. The pressure of the standings removes the usual risk calculus entirely.
The trapezoid rule in hockey becomes relevant in these moments too: goalies can’t freely play the puck behind the net, which affects how teams manage possession when cycling during a 6-on-5 push.
Does Pulling the Goalie Actually Work?
Here’s the honest answer: it works less often than fans remember, but more often than doing nothing.
Teams trailing by one goal score to tie approximately 14–15% of the time after pulling their goalie, according to data from the 2018–19 NHL season compiled by HockeyAnswered. That’s roughly 1 in 6 attempts — comparable to the success rate of a power play.
The empty-net goals against are real and painful. When one team pulls the goalie, according to Wikipedia’s analysis of NHL data, the opposing team’s scoring rate per 10-second interval jumps significantly. But the trailing team’s scoring rate also rises — and since a regulation loss costs the same in the standings regardless of margin, the risk-reward math still favors pulling the goalie.
When Analytics Say You Should Pull the Goalie
Traditional hockey wisdom said: pull the goalie with one minute left per goal you need. Down by one? Pull at 1:00. Down by two? Pull at 2:00.
Analytics have completely dismantled that thinking.
A 2018 study by hedge fund manager and sports analytics writer Cliff Asness and his team found that a team trailing by one goal should pull their goalie with 6 minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the third period to maximize their chance of earning standings points. For teams down by two goals, the optimal pull time is even earlier — around the 13-minute mark of the third period.
NHL coaches are slowly adopting this thinking. Data from Hockey Graphs shows that the average pull time when trailing by one goal has crept earlier by about 30 seconds over seven seasons. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes have been consistently more aggressive than the league average.
The math comes down to this: more time with an extra skater means more scoring chances. Every 10 seconds you wait is a 10-second window you’ve thrown away.
The Risks Coaches Are Accepting
Pulling the goalie isn’t without real consequences. Here’s what coaches are knowingly trading away:
- Empty-net goals against are the obvious risk. The puck gets loose in the neutral zone and it’s a free goal.
- Momentum shift: giving up an empty-netter can deflate a team and energize the opponent in a way that a regular even-strength goal doesn’t.
- Icing limitations: when your goalie is pulled, the opposing team can ice the puck freely to kill time — which limits what your team can do defensively to protect against a breakaway.
None of these consequences change the fundamental logic of the move. A team trailing by one goal late in a game is already losing. The goalie pull is the best available tool to change that outcome.
What This Looks Like at the Junior and Recreational Level
The goalie pull isn’t just an NHL strategy. It applies at every level — minor hockey, recreational leagues, and junior programs all use the same tactic.
For younger players and their parents watching from the stands, it’s worth understanding what’s happening and why. It’s not panic. It’s math.
Coaches who understand the analytics are increasingly making this call earlier, especially in close games during tournaments where point differentials can matter for seeding. If your player is ever the extra attacker called onto the ice in those final minutes, they’ll want to have practiced it — the positioning, the communication, and the awareness of where the puck needs to go.