In NHL 21, your main goal is to score more goals than your opponent. You can’t win games unless you score, so knowing how to consistently put the puck in the net is critical. However, this is easier said than done. But there are a few tips in NHL 21 that can help you get ahead and on the winning side.
Luckily, we have you covered on that front here. This guide will tell you all about that and get you started on your journey to win.
1. Practice Before You Try Being Competitive
There’s a training mode under the practice tab that you can use to improve your skills and learn your best plays. Attempt all the tutorials multiple times and learn all the skills you can.
You can also play any offline game mode and start with difficulty on Pro. This will be extremely frustrating and challenging since you will fail a lot at the start, but you will start to improve faster.
2. HUT Challenges and Squad Battles
After hitting the Practice Mode, you can practice your skills at offline HUT Challenges and Squad Battles.
The HUT Challenge requires you to attempt three objectives. Completing one is necessary, but the other two can lead to bonus rewards.
Grinding in Squad Battles will have you face off against other HUT teams. Winning will reward you with coins and packs. So, this is a good way to keep coins in your account while improving your skills.
These battles won’t be easy and it will be a time-consuming process that can start to feel tedious. However, you can increase your chances of succeeding with the following tips and tricks.
3. Teamwork Makes All the Difference
Hockey is a fast game, but you cannot win if you simply press and try to constantly move toward the goal. Play it slow and pass the ball around a bit to play possession hockey.
You pass by pressing RT/R2. You can easily give up potential goals by being too aggressive and not sharing the ball with your other players. This is one of the best universal tips for NHL 21 that’s applicable no matter the game mode.
4. Maintain A Solid Defense
When playing defense, you should prioritize your player positioning. Know which players can provide the most help and send them ahead while leaving behind a few players who still provide excellent defense.
Sending out the last guy in the back to score will expose your goal and result in you losing. For this reason, you should try out different defensive positions and stick to those as much as possible.
5. Take Advantage of The Improved AI Offense
NHL hockey is a sport that becomes more aggressive each year. This can and has led to problems where the speed is too much for the game to handle.
This year, they’ve made a few significant technical improvements that reduce these bugs and errors. This means the AI is less likely to go haywire when coming at you.
This also means that you are more accurately able to check their patterns and positioning and plan around them. Removing of unpredictable variables such as bugs can help you plan your play much better.
6. Practice One-Times Shots
One-timed shots are difficult for goalies to stop and have a high chance of success. This is why they’re widely used and often recommended to players who want to ensure successful goals—cross-ice pass- as goalies must move across the crease quickly to make a save.
You can try these shots by passing the puck to a teammate and then having that player shoot it as soon as he gets it.
This means the player should wind up the shot before you pass it to him.
Be sure to pass to a player in a good position to score. You probably shouldn’t try it with the guy standing just 4 feet to your left.
If you want to increase confusion amongst the opposing team, try cycling the puck.
This means that you should pass it around from player to player and then give it to the player who is perfectly positioned to the goal.
7. Dekes Can Get Past Any Goalie
NHL 21 has many different dekes available for you to try out. These all vary in terms of complexity and difficulty but you can get the hang of them with a bit of practice.
Backhands and forehands are the most common and simplest Dekes. Let’s start with those.
The Forehand Deke works by pressing shift RS in the direction you want to use for the shot. For right-handed shots, put it on the right, and for left-handed shots, put it on the left.
Backhand dekes are performed by pressing shift RS/Right Stick to the left for right-handed shots and the opposite for left-handed shooters. These are fairly simple and easy to learn.
There are many more complex and challenging Dekes that you can use to get the best of Goalies.
Be sure to learn the Lacrosse and the Kucherov (Fake Shot). Be sure to only attempt dekes when you’re close to the opposing defender is close to you.
8. Know When to Fight
Whoever said fighting never solved anything isn’t a hockey fan. You can incite a scuffle or accept an invitation to one. If you’re victorious, this will re-energize all forward lines and defensive pairings. The downside is that it will take said player off the field for a few minutes so don’t send out your most elite ones.
They’re not usually the best fighters anyway so you don’t want to put yourself at a disadvantage. Also, be sure to control your hits so each one counts. Fighting will seriously drain your stamina. Use blocks and dodges as much as possible and wait for your opponent to tire himself out. Once you have an opening, land a big hit and then block again. So choosing your battles is one of the best tips for NHL 21.
