During regulation play, each NHL team has six players on the ice: three forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender.
The six-player setup developed from early Canadian ice hockey and remains the standard starting arrangement in modern NHL play. The forwards are a center and two wings, while the defense usually works as a left- and right-side pair. Teams maintain larger rosters and rotate players through lines during the game.
The phrase “during regulation play” matters because teams do not always keep six players on the ice. A team serving a penalty may have fewer skaters, and a club may remove its goaltender for an extra attacker, usually late in a close game. Those situations change the number temporarily but do not change the normal lineup.
A related point of confusion is the difference between players on the ice and players available for a game. NHL teams can dress many more players than six, including substitutes, but only six from each team participate on the ice at one time under ordinary conditions.