Tips for Defending in '23

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@robweyd wrote:

Really fantastic breakdown. I've been having some trouble defending the cross crease. The video is a selection from one rivals game. Tips and suggestions appreciated. 

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I'd be glad to offer some advice on defending this!

Firstly, the one thing that sticks out to me in your video is that your opponent seems to be gaining entry into the zone with ease, which allows them the speed to burn past defenders that are executing misstimed poke checks:

Try to get your defender a little closer to the puck carrier before executing that poke. It can be tough to get in close without overcommitting; but that's where "feathering" the left stick comes in to play. Rather than push LS (Left stick) all the way to full radius, try moving it halfway - you'll notice your player will have more agility but without the burst of speed that will cause you to overcommit like what happened here:

As you can see, you're instructing the player to burst with speed by pushing LS to 100% in the direction where the player is. This causes the pass to go right through you as your player is simply following the instruction to skate as fast as they can in the direction you told them to. This will negate most (not all) animations that intercept the puck.

Now I can't tell exactly who you're controlling here, but I'm taking a guess based on the animation being displayed by the player. It looks as though you're trying to clog the slot by using DSS. However, in this scenario, I would take control of the defender closest to the net (Hold Right Trigger and press R3).

I believe you could've utilized DSS and a poke (R3 while in DSS) to direct your poke check at the puck carrier and snuff this play out:

On the following play, it looks like you're using DSS which is great, but you're not moving RS so that your stick is in the path/disrupting puck possession. You're also moving in a straight line backwards, when you should angle the puck carrier away from the net and use your stick to force the puck carrier to move laterally for a better pass/shot:

I gotta run for now, but I'll check out the rest of the video and provide some feedback in the coming days!