NHL 09 Hockey 101: New Defensive Moves

[RaychelSnr]

Due to NHL 09's critical success, the game has attracted an audience which consists of people who may not necessarily know much about hockey. Therefore, our very own Patrick Williams will be looking at several aspects of hockey. Check out his first Hockey 101 article over the new defensive moves in NHL 09.

Quote:

"Welcome back hockey fans to the first '09 edition of NHL 101, the class where we discuss the dos and don'ts of gameplay in EA's NHL series. With NHL 09 fresh off the delivery truck and now presently in your console you are probably knee-deep in some vulcanized rubber. You probably have many questions about the game, which range from how to score on a breakaway to how to score period. Then there are others of you out there that probably just want to know what period length is best for realistic stats."

[CRIP4LIFE]

hook/hold is LB (L1 on PS3).... Y (or Triangle on PS3) is check/hit.

[[Icy]]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigKryptic

hook/hold is LB (L1 on PS3).... Y (or Triangle on PS3) is check/hit.

Not with default controls. With default, as the article properly says, triangle is to hook/hold.

[CRIP4LIFE]

oh youre correct... im stupid actually. i use classic controls. sorry for being wrong.

[mercalnd]

Good tips. But the crouching is hardly a "last resort" move. It's much more efficient at blocking passing lanes than just standing there and trying to use the poke sweep. While the poke sweep may cover a wider area, the crouch is more reliable since it offers a bigger and stationary obstacle. You can easily whiff with the poke sweep, not so much when crouching in the passing lane.

[StormJH1]

I tend to think that the diving animation is the only reliable way to block a pass into the lane from the outside. It covers the most space on the ice and is much easier to control than the "shaft down" method, which seems to face the wrong direction a lot of the time.

The problem with diving is that it would result in a penalty almost any time somebody tripped over you in '08. In '09, I haven't noticed this problem as much. I think the biggest problem for these controls on 360 is that the LB and RB buttons aren't very reliable, so you can hit them by accident a lot, or think you're pressing it but nothing happens.

[kerosene31]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

Good tips. But the crouching is hardly a "last resort" move. It's much more efficient at blocking passing lanes than just standing there and trying to use the poke sweep. While the poke sweep may cover a wider area, the crouch is more reliable since it offers a bigger and stationary obstacle. You can easily whiff with the poke sweep, not so much when crouching in the passing lane.

Yeah, I find myself using it a lot. It can be really useful. It also seems to help with shot blocks, as shots seem more likely to hit you when you are crouched.

[Matt Diesel]

If you are a D man, in front of the net with an opponent positioned face to face with you and you hit the hook button, you will tie up that players stick hands. I have only done this a few times and you have to be careful to be facing each other. Else he slashes/hooks.