Hockey player Billy Duke joins the Toronto Maple Leafs, and must adapt to the big league game with assistance from his room-mate, George Armstrong.

The main cast, per the opening credits, are: The 1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs served as Billy Duke's National Hockey League (NHL) team, with players appearing in real game footage as well as many scripted scenes throughout the film.

Players from other NHL teams also made appearances, in filmed scenes or actual game footage, including Jean Béliveau, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull.

[1] Game film included, and the closing credits acknowledged, the 1970–71 Boston Bruins, 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens, 1970–71 Los Angeles Kings, 1970–71 Chicago Black Hawks, 1970–71 Detroit Red Wings, 1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers, 1970–71 California Golden Seals, 1970–71 Vancouver Canucks and 1970–71 New York Rangers.

Some members of the actual press corps that covered the Leafs and the NHL had lines in the film, including George Gross, Scott Young and Fergie Olver (misspelled "Oliver").

[4] Upon the 2011 DVD release of Face-Off, Sun Media's Bruce Kirkland acknowledged the "cheesy" production but noted the historic value of filmed scenes which included professional hockey players which he deemed of superior quality compared to the "crappy TV archives" of NHL footage of that time.