A fighting major and an ejection are different penalties.

The ruleset used on this page

The primary scope is the National Hockey League Official Rules 2025–2026. As checked on 27 August 2026, that is the latest rulebook linked by the NHL's official Video Rulebook page. This page does not predict wording for the 2026–27 NHL season before the league publishes its replacement rulebook.

International and amateur hockey do not use the NHL outcome automatically. A later section compares the IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27 and the standard USA Hockey Official Rules of Ice Hockey 2025–29. A national association, junior league, school, tournament or local competition may appoint a different code or add suspension rules.

Major, misconduct and game misconduct do different jobs

• Fighting major: NHL Rule 46.14 requires a five-minute major for a player who fights. A major normally makes the team short-handed for the full five minutes and does not end when the opponent scores, unless an equal opposing penalty is treated as coincidental under Rule 19.
• Misconduct: Rule 22.1 removes a skater for ten minutes. A substitute may replace that player immediately, so the misconduct alone does not reduce team strength. After the ten minutes expires, the player waits for the next stoppage before leaving the penalty box.
• Game misconduct: Rule 23.1 removes the player for the balance of the game. A substitute is permitted, so the game misconduct alone does not make the team short-handed. The NHL records ten penalty minutes, but the player is not serving a ten-minute route back into that game.

Combined penalty: when a major and game misconduct are assessed together, the player is ejected but NHL Rules 20.3–20.4 permit the replacement only after the five-minute major has elapsed. For a goalkeeper's misconduct, Rule 22.2 requires another player who was on the ice at the stoppage to serve the ten minutes.

Not every scrum is an NHL fight

NHL Rule 46.1 treats a fight as repeated punches or attempted punches by at least one player, or wrestling that makes it difficult for the Linespersons to intervene and separate the players. Rule 46.3 uses the broader term altercation for a situation involving two players in which at least one is penalized.

This distinction matters. Pushing, grabbing or a brief post-whistle exchange can be penalized under another rule without producing a fighting major. Conversely, a player need not land a punch for repeated attempted punches to meet Rule 46.1. The Referees have expressly broad latitude to distinguish who started, willingly joined or continued the incident.

Why two five-minute majors can mean no power play

If one player from each team receives a fighting major at the same stoppage and there is no other penalty differential, NHL Rule 19.2 treats the equal majors as coincidental. Immediate substitutes are allowed for the equal penalties, so play resumes at the same on-ice strength—normally five skaters against five.

The penalized players still serve their majors and cannot simply return when five minutes appears to have elapsed. Under the coincidental-major procedure, they remain in the penalty boxes until the first stoppage after their penalties expire. “The penalties cancel” therefore means they cancel for manpower; it does not erase them from the game sheet or free the players immediately.

When a fight does create a power play

If only one team receives a fighting major, NHL Rule 20.2 makes that team short-handed for the full five minutes. If both teams receive matching majors but one player also receives an instigator minor, the majors offset for manpower and the extra two-minute minor creates the power play.

Officials and penalty timekeepers compare all penalties assessed at the same stoppage, not merely the word “fighting.” With several players involved, equal durations are paired under Rule 19 and any remaining time penalty is served in the normal way. That is why the announcement and official game sheet are more reliable than counting players who went to the dressing room.

Starting a fight is a separate NHL finding

Under NHL Rule 46.11, relevant instigator indicators include distance travelled, gloves off first, the first punch, a menacing posture, threats and retaliation for an earlier incident. No single visual shortcut automatically decides the call; the Referee considers the conduct as a whole.

The standard NHL instigator package is an instigating minor, fighting major and ten-minute misconduct. If the opponent has a matching fighting major, the additional minor is ordinarily the manpower difference. A second instigator finding to the same player in one game changes the misconduct to a game misconduct, and the third instigator penalty in a regular season also produces a game misconduct. Rule 46.20 then provides escalating automatic suspensions for repeat instigator findings.

Continuing against a defenseless player brings ejection

NHL Rule 46.2 defines the aggressor as the player who keeps throwing punches to punish a defenseless or unwilling opponent. A player who has clearly won but continues to land punches must be treated as the aggressor.

The aggressor receives a fighting major and a game misconduct. If that player is also the instigator, the full NHL package is the instigating minor, fighting major, ten-minute instigator misconduct and aggressor game misconduct. The ejection is personal; the power-play calculation still depends on which minor and major penalties remain unmatched.

Conduct around the fight can add penalties

• Continuing or resisting: Rule 46.5 permits an added misconduct or game misconduct when a player continues after being ordered to stop or resists a Linesperson.
• Secondary fight: Rule 46.7 adds a game misconduct to a player assessed a fighting major after the original altercation has begun. The Referee may waive that automatic ejection for a player whose opponent was clearly the instigator.
• Third player in: Rule 46.16 permits a game misconduct for the first and subsequent players who intervene in an altercation already in progress, subject to the rule's exception when a match penalty is imposed in the original altercation.
• Off the playing surface or outside a period: Rules 46.8 and 46.9 add misconduct or game-misconduct consequences, reporting and possible supplementary discipline.

Leaving the bench is not just “another fighter”

NHL Rule 70 separately prohibits leaving the players' or penalty bench during an altercation or to start one. The first or second player from either team to do so receives a game misconduct, with additional penalties and suspensions possible under the detailed leaving-bench provisions. A legal line change before an altercation is judged differently, so the timing and purpose of entry matter.

Equipment conduct can also change the result. Rule 46.6 gives a minor for deliberately removing one's helmet before a fight. Rule 46.13 provides additional sanctions for deliberately removing a jersey or losing a jersey that was not properly tied down. Rule 46.15 calls for a match penalty when taped hands cut or injure an opponent, and for a punch that injures an unsuspecting or unwilling opponent.

The last five minutes carry an NHL review consequence

Under Rules 46.12 and 46.21, an instigator in the final five minutes of regulation or at any time in overtime receives the instigating minor, fighting major and a game misconduct. A one-game suspension follows pending Player Safety review; when it is imposed, the Coach is fined. The rule allows Player Safety to decide that the incident was not score-related, retaliatory or “message sending” and remove that automatic suspension.

This is not a general rule that every fight in the final five minutes suspends both players. The trigger is the NHL's instigator finding in the specified time window.

The box-score call and later discipline are separate

The on-ice penalties determine the restart, manpower and who may continue in the current game. NHL Rules 23.2 and 28 allow reporting and supplementary discipline after the incident. Rule 46 also contains automatic suspension ladders for specified repeat aggressor or instigator findings.

A game misconduct therefore does not, by itself, state the number of future games a player will miss. The answer may be zero, an automatic rule-based suspension, or a later league decision. Conversely, equal majors that leave the teams five-on-five do not prevent the league from reviewing the conduct afterward.

IIHF and USA Hockey eject fighters

• IIHF 2026/27: Rule 46.1 makes a major plus automatic game misconduct the standard penalty for a willing or active participant in a fight. Rule 46.10 gives an instigator an additional minor and permits the Referee to treat a player defending against an instigator or aggressor as an unwilling combatant and waive that player's automatic game misconduct.
• USA Hockey 2025–29 standard rules: Rule 615 treats any punch or attempted punch toward an opponent as fighting. A fighter receives a major plus game misconduct, and the player who starts or instigates receives an additional minor. A player who is struck and does not retaliate is not penalized for fighting under that rule.
• NHL 2025–26: the normal penalty for a fight is the major alone. A game misconduct needs an additional Rule 46 trigger such as aggressor status, a secondary fight or specified conduct around the altercation.

USA Hockey's separate Junior edition is not interchangeable with its standard youth/adult book, and an IIHF event may add disciplinary regulations. Always identify the rulebook appointed for the match.

Two willing NHL fighters, no extra penalties

Situation: one skater from each team willingly fights during a period. Each receives only a fighting major.

NHL 2025–26 ruling: the two majors are coincidental under Rule 19.2. Both players serve the penalties, immediate substitutes enter, and the teams remain at equal strength. The players can leave the boxes only at the first stoppage after the five minutes expire.

One NHL fighter is also the instigator

Situation: both players receive fighting majors, but one travelled across the zone, dropped the gloves first and started the exchange. The Referee finds that player to be the instigator.

NHL 2025–26 ruling: the fighting majors offset for manpower. The instigating minor leaves that player's team short-handed for two minutes, and the player also receives a ten-minute misconduct under Rule 46.11. The decisive fact is the additional instigator finding, not the existence of the two fighting majors.

An ejection without extra short-handed time

Situation: two NHL players have matching fighting majors. After one is defenseless, the other keeps landing punches and is assessed an aggressor game misconduct.

NHL 2025–26 ruling: the equal majors remain coincidental, so the teams may stay at equal strength. The aggressor is removed for the rest of the game under Rule 46.2. The game misconduct changes player eligibility, not the manpower calculation by itself.

The same punch under USA Hockey

Situation: a USA Hockey player throws one punch toward an opponent; it misses. The opponent does not retaliate.

USA Hockey 2025–29 ruling: Rule 615 defines the attempted punch as fighting. The puncher receives a major plus game misconduct, plus an instigating minor if that player started the incident. The non-retaliating opponent receives no fighting penalty. That result must not be replaced with the NHL's repeated-punch definition.

How to read an altercation ruling

1. Name the competition and edition. NHL, IIHF and USA Hockey do not attach the same automatic outcome.
2. Identify the conduct. Was it roughing, an altercation, fighting, an instigated fight or aggression against an unwilling player?
3. List every penalty for each player. Keep minors, majors, misconducts, game misconducts and match penalties separate.
4. Pair coincidental time penalties. Under the appointed rulebook, determine which equal penalties do not affect strength.
5. Serve the unmatched time. That differential determines the power play and when a substitute can enter.
6. Apply personal removal. A misconduct controls temporary exclusion; a game misconduct ends that player's game.
7. Check automatic and later discipline. Repeat offences, late instigation, bench leaving and competition regulations can affect future games.

Five claims to avoid

• “Fighting is legal in the NHL.” It is a Rule 46 infraction carrying a major; the usual absence of an automatic ejection does not make it legal.
• “Five minutes each means four-on-four.” Matching NHL fighting majors normally permit immediate substitutes and do not reduce strength.
• “A game misconduct means a ten-minute return.” The NHL records ten minutes, but the player is removed for the balance of the game.
• “An ejection always creates a power play.” Short-handed time comes from an unmatched time penalty, not the game-misconduct label alone.
• “The NHL rule applies to youth or international hockey.” IIHF 2026/27 and USA Hockey 2025–29 both make game misconduct part of the standard fighting penalty.

Governing-body sources and effective versions

• National Hockey League — Official Rules 2025–2026, Rules 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 46 and 70
• National Hockey League — Video Rulebook and current rulebook download page
• International Ice Hockey Federation — Official Rule Book 2026/27, Rule 46
• USA Hockey — Official Rules of Ice Hockey 2025–29, Rule 615

Checked against the NHL's latest posted rulebook on 27 August 2026 and the current IIHF and USA Hockey editions named above. League, tournament, national-association and age-class regulations may supplement the playing-rule penalty with reporting or suspension requirements.