TLDR: The long change happens every second period — teams switch ends and suddenly their bench is on the far side of the ice from their defensive zone. Players have to skate roughly 50 extra feet just to get off for a line change, which leads to longer shifts, tired legs, bad decisions, and — consistently — more goals than any other period.
Have you ever noticed that the second period of a hockey game just seems… different? More chaotic, more goals, more odd-man rushes? There’s a real reason for that, and it has a name.
It’s called the long change — and once you know what it is, you’ll never watch the second period the same way again.
What Is the Long Change, Exactly?
Let’s break it down.
In a hockey arena, each team’s player bench sits along one side of the ice. In the first and third periods, every team defends the goal that’s closest to their bench. When a player needs to come off, it’s a short skate — clean change, fresh legs on the ice, no problem.
In the second period, teams switch ends. Now they’re defending the goal that’s farthest from their bench. So when a player needs to get off the ice, he has to skate approximately 50 more feet to reach the bench compared to the first or third period.
Fifty feet doesn’t sound like much. But when you’re 40 seconds into a shift and your legs feel like wet concrete, that extra 50 feet is enormous. It’s the difference between a clean substitution and getting completely caught out there — stuck in the defensive zone, exhausted, and suddenly a liability.
That’s the long change.
Long Change vs. Short Change — What’s the Difference?
You’ll hear both terms thrown around by players, coaches, and commentators, even though neither one is an official NHL term.
- Long change = the second period, when the bench is on the far side from your defensive zone
- Short change = the first and third periods, when the bench is right there, closer to your defensive zone
| Period | Bench Distance | Line Change Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Short | Easy |
| 2nd | Long | Difficult |
| 3rd | Short | Easy |
The short change is straightforward — tired player, quick exit, problem solved. The long change is where things get interesting. A delayed change, a miscommunication between the bench and a defenseman, a player who decides to stay out one extra second too long — all of that compounds fast when the bench is 50 feet farther away than usual.
Why Do More Goals Get Scored in the Second Period?
Here’s where it gets really interesting.
This isn’t just a feeling you get from watching games. The data backs it up in a big way. According to a Sound of Hockey analysis of the 2023-24 NHL season, 2,752 goals were scored in the second period — compared to 2,349 goals in both the first and third periods. That’s a 17.2% increase in second-period scoring.
Now here’s the part that’s easy to miss: shot attempts in the second period only went up by about 3.7%. Goals jumped 17%, but shots barely moved. So teams aren’t suddenly shooting more in the second period — players are just more tired, making worse decisions, and giving up better chances.
That’s the long change doing its thing.
When a defenseman gets caught deep in his own zone — because he had to make that long skate to the bench and couldn’t get off cleanly — that’s when the chaos starts:
- He turns the puck over to a fresh attacker coming off the bench
- An odd-man rush develops the other way
- A tired player takes a hooking penalty instead of playing proper defense
- A wrist shot or tip-in catches a goalie off-guard because the defensive coverage broke down
It’s not just the skaters either — goalies face longer, more sustained defensive sequences during the long change, which means more rebounds, more second-chance opportunities, and less time to reset between shots.
Power plays spike in the second period too — 30.9% more power play goals than in other periods. Makes sense. Exhausted players take more undisciplined penalties. It’s all connected to fatigue and the long change.
What to Watch For in the Second Period
Next time you’re watching a game, pay attention to the line changes in the second period — specifically whether the coach is sending players off on the fly or waiting for a stoppage.
When a team is pinned in their own zone during the long change, watch the bench. You’ll often see a coach signaling for a player to stay out there even though it’s clearly time for a change, because there’s no clean opportunity. The player can’t get off without creating a turnover. And so the shift runs longer and longer, and the fatigue compounds.
When you see a defenseman looking toward the bench mid-shift, that’s exactly what’s happening. The gap between him and the bench is making the decision much harder than it would be in the first or third period.
How Do Teams Try to Take Advantage of It?
Good teams treat the second period as a strategic opportunity — both offensively and defensively.
On the attack: If you can keep the puck in the offensive zone during the long change, you’re essentially forcing the other team’s tired players to stay out there. A defenseman who’s been on the ice 45 seconds and can’t get off cleanly is a turnover waiting to happen. Coaches will tell their forwards to keep pressing, keep maintaining zone pressure, because the reward gets bigger the longer the other team is pinned.
On defense: It comes down to communication and timing. The best coaches manage their lines more conservatively in the second period — they’ll often wait for a whistle to make a change rather than risking a messy on-the-fly substitution with the bench so far away. Getting a fresh line on the ice cleanly matters more in period two than anywhere else in the game.
Modern NHL teams track shift length and zone time closely, and the long change is one of those structural factors that analytics departments consistently flag — because the data shows it creates scoring opportunities that don’t exist in other periods.
Gap management between players also becomes more important — defenders have to be more careful about getting too deep knowing that getting back to the bench is a longer haul.
Does the Long Change Apply in Overtime?
Good question — and this one trips people up.
In regular-season overtime, teams actually go back to the first-period end. So overtime in the regular season is played like a short change — no long change applies.
In playoff overtime, it works like regulation: teams switch ends each period. So if a game goes to a second overtime period, that would be a long change. Third overtime? Short change again. And so on.
It’s a small detail but it’s worth knowing, especially during those marathon playoff games.
Key Takeaways
- The long change happens every second period when teams defend the goal that’s farthest from their bench
- Players have to skate roughly 50 extra feet to reach the bench compared to the first and third periods (the “short change”)
- Second-period scoring is 17.2% higher than other periods (2023-24 data) — driven by fatigue and defensive breakdowns, not extra shot volume
- Power play goals spike 30.9% in the second period — tired, trapped players take more penalties
- Smart coaches adjust their line-change timing in the second period, often waiting for stoppages rather than changing on the fly
- In regular-season OT, there’s no long change — teams use the first-period direction
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the long change in hockey?
The long change is a situation that occurs every second period in hockey, when teams switch ends and must defend the goal farthest from their player bench. This forces players to skate approximately 50 extra feet to complete a line change compared to the first and third periods, leading to longer shifts, more fatigue, and higher-scoring play.
Why is it called the long change?
It’s called the long change because players have a longer skate to reach their bench during line changes. In the second period, the bench is on the far side of the ice relative to the defensive zone, making substitutions significantly harder than in the first or third periods (often called the “short change”).
Does the long change cause more goals?
Yes — data from the 2023-24 NHL season shows 17.2% more goals were scored in the second period compared to other periods. Shot attempts barely increased (only 3.7%), meaning the extra goals came from fatigue-driven mistakes and defensive breakdowns rather than more shooting.
Does the long change happen in overtime?
In regular-season overtime, teams use the first-period end, so there is no long change. In playoff overtime, teams switch ends each period like regulation — meaning a second overtime period would feature a long change, and a third overtime period would be a short change.
Why is the second period the highest-scoring period in hockey?
The second period consistently produces more goals than the first or third because of the long change. Teams defend the goal farthest from their bench, making line changes harder and forcing players to stay on the ice longer. The resulting fatigue leads to more turnovers, more odd-man rushes, and more penalties — all of which produce scoring chances. Data from the 2023-24 NHL season shows a 17.2% increase in second-period goals compared to other periods, even though shot volume barely changed.
Last Updated: April 2026
