The NHL introduced the shootout in 2005 to decide regular-season games that remained tied after overtime.
The change took effect during the 2005–06 season, following the 2004–05 lockout. Before then, a regular-season game could end in a tie if neither team scored during the five-minute overtime period. The NHL wanted to eliminate ties and create a more decisive finish for fans.
Under the original format, each team selected three shooters after overtime. If the score remained tied, the shootout continued in sudden-death rounds. The shootout applied only to regular-season games; Stanley Cup playoff games still use repeated sudden-death overtime periods until someone scores.
A common mix-up is the 1999–2000 season, when the NHL began awarding a standings point to each team tied after regulation and an extra point to the overtime winner. That rule changed the incentives around overtime, but it did not introduce the shootout. The 2005–06 season also brought other major rule changes, including the removal of the two-line pass restriction and stricter enforcement against obstruction.