News Post

NHL 09: Goalies Wanted, Will Train

04:18 PM - March 25, 2009 by RaychelSnr

Of all the positions in NHL 09, it seems like the goalie position is the one that is neglected the most.

Most of the players I have talked to agree that it is not so much because the position is not fun, but rather because the position is extremely difficult to learn -- much less master.

Part of the blame for that difficulty falls on EA Canada�s shoulder pads. The developers at EA Canada are the ones who have made the save controls completely counter-intuitive, given no on-screen indication of where the goalie should position himself, and put goalies at a severe disadvantage when it comes to dealing with input delay and the need to make split-second reactions to stop shots.

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Game: NHL 09Reader Score: 9/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS2 / PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 47 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 adayinthelife @ 03/25/09 04:22 PM

I don't feel like there is enough incentive for people to play net.

At least in real life goalies don't have to pay for shinny and in my beer league at least a shutout equals a free pitcher for the goalie

# 2 savoie2006 @ 03/25/09 05:05 PM

I wouldn't want to play goalie in the EASHL unless I had teammates that could play effective/proper Defense. Alot, if not most, are only concerned about Offense it seems.

# 3 hedache @ 03/25/09 06:47 PM

I'm a goalie in a beer league and it's so much fun. On the other hand, I don't find it entertaining anywhere close due to the lack of action/success percentage. Most of the time I find myself waiting for the puck to come to our side (in the few games i played net). It's more fun to play skater get a lot more action for sure. What's the point of playing a video game when you're not doing anything at least half the time. When you are a skater, you are always trying to be in position on offense and on defense or in the neutral zone. Playing goalie in the game is kinda pointless.

# 4 scott209 @ 03/25/09 07:00 PM

i play gollie on online ranked games my record is 46-25 my GAA. is 2.36 so i think i do fine i do most of these things it is a hard position to learn but once you do it's very fun and you stop alot of glitch goals

# 5 jyoung @ 03/25/09 07:08 PM

The frantic up and down nature of online play keeps the goalies involved in NHL '09 a lot more than they might be in a real life game.

Rarely are there any dull moments, unless your team just happens to be completely dominating a group of scrubs and keeping the puck stuck in their zone all game long.

Like the article says, not only is it more fun to play with/against a good human goalie, but they are also incredibly useful to have on your team because you don't have to worry about them giving up glitch goals.

# 6 Jeffrey99 @ 03/26/09 07:09 AM

My problem with playing net is that you don't have to do anything to make a save. And as was pointed above, it actually hurts you more to try and make a save. That would be like me being able to skate into the crease and there be a auto-shot button, what's the point?

Goalies have to be quick on the reflexes to see/know where the puck is going. As it is now with NHL 09, all you have to do is be in "position" and allow the game to decide if it wants to make the save for you. If we are allowing the game to make the save, why play with human goalie at all?

# 7 Gossennator @ 03/26/09 01:29 PM

I wish I knew how to play goalie well but its way too hard and takes way too long to learn. BTW if anybody wants to join my team send a msg to Gossennator over XBL. We could use more people.

# 8 damir662 @ 03/26/09 01:52 PM

i would like to play goalie or player but it seems that people playing are just not that serious. (the ones I played with/against) Maybe I havent got with the right crowd but I would love to play with a serious team or a serious league

# 9 IBYCFOTA @ 03/27/09 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffrey99


	My problem with playing net is that you don't have to do anything to make a save. And as was pointed above, it actually hurts you more to try and make a save. That would be like me being able to skate into the crease and there be a auto-shot button, what's the point? Goalies have to be quick on the reflexes to see/know where the puck is going. As it is now with NHL 09, all you have to do is be in "position" and allow the game to decide if it wants to make the save for you. If we are allowing the game to make the save, why play with human goalie at all?

It wouldn't be practical to force people to make saves with the right stick. Any lag would kill you and you would pretty much have to try to make a save before they even shoot. It's already hard enough to play goalie as it is, I don't think they need to make it harder.

The big problem with goalie currently is that one timers and cross crease passes are overly difficult to stop. It needs to be tweaked for 2010 to make getting over easier to compensate for lag and remove the post magnet nonsense. However goalies should be a bit easier to score on when they are in good position. NHL goalies all have great positioning almost all the time, but they still get scored on because of defensive breakdowns. Plus, there is no defense for the perfect shot.

# 10 nacnud @ 04/09/09 10:20 PM

Playing goal gets lonely if you're on a good team. lol

# 11 jtricoli @ 04/14/09 10:12 AM

Interesting read. I would however, somewhat disagree about the insignificance of the right analog stick. I've found several good situations where using the right analog stick to go butterfly is the best method of stopping certain shots. The main reason for this is the goalie tendency to cover the puck when pulling down to be in butterfly. I've found this most helpful for shots from the point, which are often deflected low on the way to the net. Being in the butterfly help close the 5 hole in that situation and you have a higher percentage chance of covering it up.

The second situation I use butterfly is when the offensive forward is moving from a low corner to the front of the net. Once the skater come close to the near post, I go into the butterfly and move towards him. I've found this is very effective against the shot to the far side.

Thanks for the article, I appreciate the series as a whole and especially the one on the defense.

Jtric

# 12 kerosene31 @ 04/16/09 05:24 PM

I love playing goalie floor hockey, but in NHL 09 it is just terrible.

There are just so many things that you just can't simulate with a controller.

The game's producer is a former goalie, so it isn't like they don't have experience.

The biggest problem I had with it vs real life is screens. Screens are so effective against humans because you can't move your head. In the real world, you can duck down, move your head to get a clear view of the puck.

Throw in all the goofy rebounding and post sticking... ugh.

# 13 Ant18 @ 04/30/09 07:54 AM

PLEASE HELP.....
Good advice on this post . I play goalie all the time in NHL 09 cause I love the challenge . The cross ice passes are nearly impossible to stop. I have played hockey for a long time so I know a lot about angles and anticipating a play but that can only help you so much . It is extremly difficult to get a good grade in your stats while playing goalie. The only way to get an a is to stop everything and get and assist on a play by making a long ice pass after the other team has dumped it in. With that being said ......I'm trying to figure out how the hell you put your paddle down, like the computer does, when the puck is dumped in on you . I have given up some weak bobble goals by trying to stop the puck or cover it in previous games . IF ANY BODY KNOWS COULD THEY PLEASE TELL ME. Is it a puck playing stat? Does it do it automatically?can only the computer do it?

# 14 Superleafs00 @ 01/17/10 01:50 PM

I believe playing goalie is hard, but not impossible. It just takes some time and you will learn the tendencies of the CPU. One of them is the Cpu will always try to shoot on you when you are out of position, they acccomplish this with varoius methods (passing,shooting,deking). In addition do not make saves with the right stick, positioning is more important.

# 15 bowlerguy92 @ 01/17/10 03:29 PM

Why would you dig up this old thread?

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NHL 09: Goalies Wanted, Will Train