Top Shelf Sniping: Mastering Goal-Scoring in NHL 25

Have you ever found yourself desperately mashing buttons as an opposing goalie smugly swats away your twentieth shot attempt? Fear not, virtual ice warriors, for salvation is at hand. NHL 25 offers a veritable smorgasbord of goal-scoring techniques that—when properly executed—will have netminders questioning their career choices.

The Art of Deception: Skill Stick Wizardry

The skill stick is your magic wand in NHL 25, and learning to wave it properly can produce some rather spectacular results. The classic forehand-backhand deke remains devastatingly effective when timed correctly. By wiggling the puck back and forth like a hypnotist’s pocket watch, you’ll have goalies flopping about like fish on dry land.

For a particularly cheeky manoeuvre, try the forehand cut—a smooth 3-to-9 counterclockwise motion that carves across the net like a hot knife through butter. As the announcer might say: “The goalie’s still looking for his jockstrap after that one!”

Gliding to Glory

Sometimes the simplest approaches yield the best results. The backhand glide is criminally underutilised by casual players. Cut in on your backhand, gently release the directional input to enter a serene glide towards the middle, and pick your spot in the top corner. Poetry in motion, really—just ask Pavel Datsyuk, whose silky mitts inspired generations of virtual danglers.

Corner Cutting: Not Just for Corporate Accountants

The corner cut goal is a bread-and-butter technique for any aspiring NHL 25 sharpshooter. Burst out from the corner like you’ve just spotted free beer at the concession stand, cut hard across the slot, and rifle one far-side, preferably sailing over the goalie’s desperate glove. Timing is everything here—too early and you’ll hit the logo on the goalie’s chest, too late and you’ll be introducing yourself to the boards behind the net.

The Tuck Life

Tuck goals require the delicate touch of a brain surgeon but deliver the satisfaction of scoring a last-minute winner against your most insufferable mate. Hold the puck teasingly to one side, then use the bumpers to release and flip it to the far side, leaving the goalkeeper looking like they’re trying to catch smoke with their bare hands.

Datsyukian Delights

The tow drag backhand shot pays homage to the Magic Man himself. A well-executed Datsyukian deke (press X on Xbox or Square on PlayStation) followed by a perfectly timed shot is enough to make any goalie contemplate an early retirement. When properly executed, expect your opponent to go suspiciously silent on voice chat.

Flippin’ Marvellous

The heel drag flip shot combines X and the right bumper in a symphony of button-pressing that, when successful, produces a shot that arcs over the goalkeeper like a rainbow over a pot of gold. Mind you, when it fails, you’ll look about as coordinated as a newborn giraffe on roller skates.

Fake It Till You Make It

The fake-to-forehand-to-backhand move operates on a simple principle: human (and AI) goalies are, fundamentally, quite gullible. Hold the puck backhand, feint to the forehand, then swiftly return to the backhand. If executed properly, the goalkeeper will be so thoroughly bamboozled they might as well be staring at an optical illusion.

Around the World in 80 Frames

The wraparound goal is hockey’s equivalent of the slow-cooked meal—it takes time to set up but delivers delicious results. Shield the puck like it contains national secrets, circle the net with the determination of a shark that’s spotted a wounded seal, then drag it to the far side for a quick tuck. Bonus points if you can make the goalie do a full 360-degree spin in desperation.

Stride Deke Supremacy

On breakaways, the stride deke is your best friend. Let your player glide gracefully towards the net, tap L1 to position yourself, and then release a shot that has no right to find the back of the net—but somehow does. The beauty of this move is that it looks fantastically skillful even when executed by accident.

The Close-Range Clapper

Finally, for the hockey equivalent of bringing a cannon to a knife fight, try the clapper from in tight. Logic suggests this shot should never work—it’s slow to wind up and telegraphed like a Victorian-era message. Yet somehow, goalies in NHL 25 occasionally treat these shots like they’re seeing a ghost, watching helplessly as the puck sails past them.

Practice Makes Perfect

As with all things in life worth doing, mastering these techniques requires practice, patience, and the occasional bout of controller-throwing frustration. Spend time in practice mode honing these moves until they become muscle memory. Before long, you’ll be lighting the lamp with such regularity that your friends will mysteriously become “too busy” to play NHL with you anymore.

Remember, the glove side is often the weak side—like targeting the Death Star’s thermal exhaust port, a well-placed shot here can yield spectacular results. Now go forth and score, you magnificent digital Gretzky, you!