

Good balance is important for all players. "The stop and go, forward to backward movement and quick turns are all important for my position, and I train these skills by working on turning and stopping in practice. Steve Duchesne says that it's important for defensemen to work on their skating skills. So when the forward is near it is better to go straight backwards and let him make the first move." But crossing over too much can get you burned because a smart forward will watch your feet and when you crossover one way he goes the other direction and it can be very hard to untangle your feet. Also, like most other defenseman, I like to use the crossover a lot when going backwards. Freeing one hand from the stick also really helps my balance and my speed because I can extend both my legs and arms when I am skating. "I like to use my stick a lot in tight situations to take the puck from the forward or intercept a pass. "Try to keep one hand on the stick as much as possible," says Steve Duchesne.

Most of the time, you score on tips (redirections) or rebounds off missed shots. If he makes a bad pass in the neutral zone and it is intercepted, he is caught travelling in the wrong direction and is susceptible to a breakaway, or out-numbered attack on his partner (who's backing him up)."Ī popular misconception is that most goals are scored on direct shots. If it's congested, often the right play is not to pass it at all, but instead, get to the red line and dump the puck into the opposition's zone. "And if you're going to play on the same line as him, you better know where to be and when to be there."įromer defenseman ESPN commentator Brian Engblom on carrying the puck out of the zone: "If the defenseman has been able to get the puck under control and gather speed coming out of his zone, he must be very careful to make the right play in the neutral zone. "That's why he's accomplished what he has, because of anticipation," Colin Campbell says of The Great One. If you're playing with a Gretzky, or some other clever director, it's imperative to play smart without the puck. The strategy is risky because there is often no one back in time to prevent a short-handed rush if the puck squirts away from the corners or behind the net.Ī good player's actions and movements away from the puck are just as important as - and sometimes more important than - his play with the puck.

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Attacking teams rush in front of the net from all angles while attempting to keep the puck moving to rotating pivot men, hoping to free up an open man one-on-one against the goaltender. The fighting controls are quite simple, but they are deep enough that you can vary your approach to win a fight in NHL 20.Formerly a rare power play strategy, "jam" plays are now commonplace. One of the most noticeable improvements from NHL 19 to NHL 20 is the fighting and the ability to win fights. If you want the complete scale of controls in NHL 20, though, it’s well worth learning the Skill Stick controls. However, Skill Stick controls can be difficult to get used to if you’re more accustomed to other sports games or enjoy using the Hybrid controls. They offer the most depth and control in each play, when on the puck or off the puck. The Skill Stick controls are widely considered to be the best to use in NHL 20. As you can see above, the controls are basically just using the left analog to move, B to shoot or body check, and A to pass or switch player.

These controls set up a strong base for newcomers to get used to NHL 20 and then move onto more expansive controller sets, such as Hybrid.
