NHL Mastery

🎮 Getting started

Pick your controls first. Skill Stick (dekes and shots on the right stick) has the highest ceiling. Hybrid puts shots on buttons and is easier to learn.
Open the in-game Controls screen and learn where pass, shoot, hustle and poke check are before your first game.
Start on a lower difficulty and move up one level once you're winning most games.
Turn on the camera angle that lets you see the most ice. Many good players use a higher, zoomed-out view.

Don't hold hustle all the time. Your player tires and handles the puck worse. Save it for breakaways and races to loose pucks.
Tight turns come from easing off the stick, not from cranking it. Slow down a little, then cut.
Protect the puck by keeping your body between the puck and the defender along the boards.
Change lines when your players' energy bars get low. Tired players lose races.

Pass more than you think. Moving the puck side to side makes the goalie move, and a moving goalie leaves holes.
Saucer passes (lifted off the ice) get over sticks in the passing lane.
Set up one-timers: a pass across the slot to a teammate ready to shoot is one of the best ways to score.
Learn two dekes really well (a toe drag and a quick forehand-backhand) before learning ten badly.
Shoot low and to the far side, or high on the short side when the goalie is down.
Get bodies in front of the net. Screens and rebounds score a lot of goals.

Stay between the puck carrier and your net. Good position beats chasing the puck.
Use stick lifts and poke checks instead of big hits, which take you out of the play if you miss.
Don't spam the poke check. Tripping penalties cost games.
Watch the passing lanes. Putting your stick in the lane stops cross-ice passes and one-timers.
Let the AI defenders help. Don't pull every player toward the puck.

Square up to the shooter. Most goals come from being out of position, not from bad reactions.
Don't go down too early. Stay on your feet until the shot is coming.
Freeze the puck when you're under pressure to get a faceoff and a breather.
Control rebounds by steering them to the corners, away from the slot.

▶ Watch and learn: goalie tips

Be a Pro: play one player's whole career. Great for learning one position properly.
Franchise: run a team as GM. You make trades, sign players and build a winner, just like Steve does.
Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT): collect player cards and build a dream team. Start with the solo challenges.
World of Chel: online games with your own player. Find a regular group so you play as a team.

Monday: 15 minutes of practice mode on skating and tight turns.
Tuesday: two dekes, 50 reps each, then use them in a game.
Wednesday: one-timer setups, both sides of the ice.
Thursday: a full game focused only on defense positioning.
Weekend: play real games and watch a replay of one goal you gave up. What would you change?

▶ Watch and learn: practice drills