I’m making this thread since it seems like there are a lot of users who are having trouble defending this year and are seeing too many high scoring games. I want to note that I do play on Superstar difficulty with slightly modded sliders that slow the game down a bit based, however this should help for even the default sliders.
Tip 1) In the defensive zone, use positioning and poke checking more often than body checking.
Hitting a player in open ice or into the boards is definitely a lot more fun than poke checking or simply covering the more dangerous areas of the ice. However going for a hit in the defensive zone is a huge risk reward that ends up leaving open a player near the slot more times than not. So rather than trying to hit to take the puck away, stay towards the center of the ice and force the CPU player to the outside. If you can, try to poke the puck away without tripping the player and you should have a good opportunity to catch them out with an odd man rush the other way. Otherwise cover the passing lane in the middle and force the shot from a bad angle where the goalie will make the save 98% of the time.
Tip 2) Don’t force the puck out of your own zone when pressured
What I mean by this is that so many times you get the puck and just want to skate or find a quick pass out to get out of your zone. In the past two years games, it was easy to do and you could clear your zone way too easy. This year the AI will step up on you much faster and try to force the turnover. If you find that you are getting pressured on the boards as you are trying to breakout, don’t be afraid to pass the puck around the boards back behind your net for a defenseman to get it and try breaking out on the other side. If they are pressuring you with 2-3 players on one side, the other side should be open to help clear the zone.
Tip 3) Puck possession in the offensive zone helps just as much as in the defensive zone
How many times have you tried forcing a pass to the slot and the CPU picks it off and goes the other way and scores? Happened to me plenty of times. So my tip here is more around not forcing chances and trying to keep the puck deep to setup better shots on goal and turning the puck over less. Same situation where if you are getting pressured on the boards and don’t have a clear pass, just fire it around the other teams net and either try to get it back with the lead forward or get numbers behind the puck so you don’t have to worry about an odd man rush the other way.
Tip 4) Know your opposition at all times
Attributes and X-Factors could probably play a larger role and be more differentiated, however the stars do play more like stars this year. So when defending, make sure you know who is on the ice for the other team. If it’s a 4th line grinder, you may be more willing to let them shoot from a closer angle because more than likely your goalie will save it. If it’s McDavid, you might want to try to force him further outside so he doesn’t have a good angle to shoot, or maybe even force him to pass to a worse player. Additionally, try to keep shooters on their natural wing because the angle to shoot at is much worse. For example, a lefty shot on the LW will have his stick on the outside as he skates in. That’s much easier for the goalie to stop than a righty shot on the LW who has their stick facing in closer to the slot. The angle open to shoot at plays a huge role in the CPUs shot success, so make sure you know who is out there and what side they shoot from.
Tip 5) When your goalie makes the save, eat the puck!
It’s way more fun to pass it out from your goalie to your d-man to get a head start on offense and sometimes this works great. However unless you clearly see there is no pressure on your d-man, eat the puck and take the faceoff. It’s more likely that you can win it or be in good enough position to prevent a chance off the faceoff than risk turning it over on a bad pass out from the goalie. Seems simple, but I’ve been caught numerous times trying to pass it out and get burned more than I need to.
I know the game is still not perfect, but it is the most fun I’ve had playing the series in a few years. These tips along with some slider tweaks have helped me see a better brand of hockey with more realistic stats and much better defense. So if you are having trouble defending the CPU and still struggling with it, I hope these tips can help you out so you don’t have to worry about outscoring the CPU anymore. Also if anyone has any other tips they’d like to share, definitely throw them in here since there is more than one style of play that works.
Tip 1) In the defensive zone, use positioning and poke checking more often than body checking.
Hitting a player in open ice or into the boards is definitely a lot more fun than poke checking or simply covering the more dangerous areas of the ice. However going for a hit in the defensive zone is a huge risk reward that ends up leaving open a player near the slot more times than not. So rather than trying to hit to take the puck away, stay towards the center of the ice and force the CPU player to the outside. If you can, try to poke the puck away without tripping the player and you should have a good opportunity to catch them out with an odd man rush the other way. Otherwise cover the passing lane in the middle and force the shot from a bad angle where the goalie will make the save 98% of the time.
Tip 2) Don’t force the puck out of your own zone when pressured
What I mean by this is that so many times you get the puck and just want to skate or find a quick pass out to get out of your zone. In the past two years games, it was easy to do and you could clear your zone way too easy. This year the AI will step up on you much faster and try to force the turnover. If you find that you are getting pressured on the boards as you are trying to breakout, don’t be afraid to pass the puck around the boards back behind your net for a defenseman to get it and try breaking out on the other side. If they are pressuring you with 2-3 players on one side, the other side should be open to help clear the zone.
Tip 3) Puck possession in the offensive zone helps just as much as in the defensive zone
How many times have you tried forcing a pass to the slot and the CPU picks it off and goes the other way and scores? Happened to me plenty of times. So my tip here is more around not forcing chances and trying to keep the puck deep to setup better shots on goal and turning the puck over less. Same situation where if you are getting pressured on the boards and don’t have a clear pass, just fire it around the other teams net and either try to get it back with the lead forward or get numbers behind the puck so you don’t have to worry about an odd man rush the other way.
Tip 4) Know your opposition at all times
Attributes and X-Factors could probably play a larger role and be more differentiated, however the stars do play more like stars this year. So when defending, make sure you know who is on the ice for the other team. If it’s a 4th line grinder, you may be more willing to let them shoot from a closer angle because more than likely your goalie will save it. If it’s McDavid, you might want to try to force him further outside so he doesn’t have a good angle to shoot, or maybe even force him to pass to a worse player. Additionally, try to keep shooters on their natural wing because the angle to shoot at is much worse. For example, a lefty shot on the LW will have his stick on the outside as he skates in. That’s much easier for the goalie to stop than a righty shot on the LW who has their stick facing in closer to the slot. The angle open to shoot at plays a huge role in the CPUs shot success, so make sure you know who is out there and what side they shoot from.
Tip 5) When your goalie makes the save, eat the puck!
It’s way more fun to pass it out from your goalie to your d-man to get a head start on offense and sometimes this works great. However unless you clearly see there is no pressure on your d-man, eat the puck and take the faceoff. It’s more likely that you can win it or be in good enough position to prevent a chance off the faceoff than risk turning it over on a bad pass out from the goalie. Seems simple, but I’ve been caught numerous times trying to pass it out and get burned more than I need to.
I know the game is still not perfect, but it is the most fun I’ve had playing the series in a few years. These tips along with some slider tweaks have helped me see a better brand of hockey with more realistic stats and much better defense. So if you are having trouble defending the CPU and still struggling with it, I hope these tips can help you out so you don’t have to worry about outscoring the CPU anymore. Also if anyone has any other tips they’d like to share, definitely throw them in here since there is more than one style of play that works.
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