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NHL 09: A Non-Glitcher's Guide to Offense

11:09 AM - April 8, 2009 by RaychelSnr

Over the last two weeks, Operation Sports has covered NHL 09 strategies for defense and goaltending. Therefore, this week it is time to talk a little bit about offense.

First, let me be clear that this guide is not here to show players how to exploit the game’s A.I. via glitch goals like the curve shot and the wraparound, but rather, this article is an attempt to inform people about hockey strategies that will work -- not just on the virtual ice -- but on the real ice, too.

Read More - NHL 09: A Non-Glitchers Guide to Offense

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

NHL 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 MrNFL_FanIQ @ 04/08/09 01:17 PM

What's the "vision control" button on PS3? I can't how many times I went to get a rebound and ended up in the penalty box.

# 2 ChaseB @ 04/08/09 02:48 PM

# 3 Juiceman612 @ 04/08/09 03:10 PM

See, this is the one issue I have with NHL. I love the game, but both of those breakaways take advantage of unrealistic goalie reactions. As a goalie I can tell you it would be a fluke goal if I let in a breakawy where the guy is on top of me pulling the puck across me. Poke check and done. You don't get that shot off. I just feel both of those breakaways are taking advantage of the bad reactions the goalie makes, which is borderline glitch to me. That's also why you don't see real games where the players come in that low and wide on a breakaway. Just my opinion.

# 4 Juiceman612 @ 04/08/09 03:12 PM

I should add by "bad reactions" I mean due to programming.

And otherwise, I think this is a good guide! I should have mentioned that before!

# 5 Ruffy @ 04/08/09 05:31 PM

Your vids are kind of glitchy moves. You can pull of dekes straight on and they work most of the time as well.......go in full speed fake left the right and shoot...you can do the opposites as well as fake left and going right.

# 6 tyler289 @ 04/08/09 11:16 PM

My EASHL team has a pretty solid offense...the dumping the puck tip works really well. A lot of the better teams step up at the blue line so dumping it quickly and getting there and quickly passing it is a good way to set up the offense.

# 7 teebee @ 04/09/09 12:26 AM

Good read there JY, all i know about hockey is from video games so good to get some info

Are there any articles on here breaking down the diff offense and defence types you can choose with the dpad?

# 8 nacnud @ 04/09/09 08:51 PM

This is helpful. Loving this site!

# 9 jyoung @ 04/11/09 04:38 PM

One more tip I've been using a lot lately to great effect:

Learn how to push the puck ahead of you by tapping the right bumper while skating forward.

This move gives you a short speed burst that can often mean the difference between a clean break into the offensive zone and a turnover.

My player isn't exactly the fastest guy on the ice (6'2" playmaker), but with this move, I am still able to get out on breakaways and squeak by defenders as they're trying to sandwich me against the boards.

# 10 jyoung @ 04/17/09 01:53 PM

Funny that you mention the grinder because I have been trying it out myself quite a bit lately.

I love the extra physicality the grinder brings to to the table, and if you put all his offensive points into passing, he can do pretty much everything a playmaker can on the offensive end.

The only area where the grinder really suffers compared to the playmaker is athleticism, but if your team has speedy wingers to do all the puck chasing for you, being a slower center isn't as big a deal.

I'd definitely recommend the grinder/center combo to anyone who's loaded with offense on the wings and needs their center to help out more with passing and defense than shooting and puck chasing.

Here's the build I've been using:

Center (grinder)

passing +20 (90)
defensive awareness +10 (90)
face offs +10 (95)
acceleration +11 (86)
speed +9 (81)

More Links

NHL 09: A Non-Glitcher's Guide to Offense