Hockey players are sitting on the bench as their teammates are on the ice. The players on the bench are poised and ready to jump in on the action. Suddenly, the coach blurts out the name of the center. That player and his two wings prepare to jump over the boards and take their turn on the ice. Once the forward line that had been on the ice returns to the bench, the new trio hits the ice and begins its shift.
Shift Change
Skating in hockey is demanding and debilitating. Players tend to skate and play as hard as they can, and that causes a buildup of lactic acid in the legs. After two minutes or so, players will feel pain in their legs and their skating will slow down. As a result, they have to be replaced on the ice by players who have been resting on the bench and are fresh.
Forward Line Shift
The coach will designate three forwards -- known as a line -- to start the game. After the puck is dropped, that trio will try to create an offensive play that results in a scoring opportunity and play defense to prevent the opposing trio from doing the same. After 45 seconds to one minute, the coach will get another threesome ready to replace the original line. If a whistle halts play for any reason other than icing the puck, the new line will methodically replace the old line. If there is no whistle and play is continuous, the coach will have players change on the fly to get fresh legs on the ice. The new players cannot legally get on the ice until the players from the previous shift have returned to the bench area.
Defensive Shift
There are normally three or four sets of offensive lines per team and two or three sets of defensive pairings. Coaches may let their best defensemen play one minute or more before replacing them with another pair. In certain cases, the two best defensemen may play nearly two minutes. The second or third pairings may only get 45 seconds before they are replaced. Defensemen only change on the fly when the puck is deep in the opponent's zone.
Late-Game Strategic Change
When it gets late in a close game, coaches tend to shorten shifts. Coaches know that players skate with the most energy as soon as they hit the ice and that their energy will start to wane after 30 seconds of hard skating. Rather than have tired players on the ice, coaches will change line shifts more frequently in the final half of the third period and overtime -- if the game goes that far -- to avoid keeping fatigued players on the ice.
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