NHL 23: 5 Best Tips for Beginners

Sports video games can be a ton of fun, especially when played with or against friends. Nothing compares to battling it out on the joysticks in a close game with few seconds remaining and one last opportunity to win the match. However, not every game ends up as a nail-biter. Sometimes you can get embarrassed in these virtual arenas, which is obviously not fun. And if you're just stepping into NHL 23 for the first time, a game that typically requires a lot of skill and coordination to be good at, you might frequently find yourself on the losing end of things. However, by utilizing these five tips for beginners, you can close the gap and even win the majority of your games. That way, you can be the one walking away with the bragging rights, until next time of course.

Changing Lines

You may notice during games, that you and your teammates can get pretty tired after a long shift on the ice. And naturally, the more tired you are, the less effective you are against another line whose energy is full. When this is the case, more often than not, your players get easily skated by and knocked off the puck, for a wide-open back door goal. And it's not always your fault; on occasion, the AI fails to switch lines between whistles even though it's much better to do so.

That's why one of the best tips for beginners in NHL 23, is to change your lines to always make sure you're using one with a full stamina bar. Or, you can switch lines out to your lines to match with the opposing team's top line. If you're using NHL 94 or Skill Stick controls, you do this by pressing and holding Square & Circle on PlayStation, or B & X on Xbox, in between whistles. If you're using Hybrid controls, do the same command while holding L2 on PlayStation, or RT on Xbox, in between whistles.

Your lines will then appear in a tiny, grayed-out window in the bottom right corner of your screen. You can then switch between the offensive and defensive lines by pressing either button, once more. Then, simply leave it on the line you selected and they will switch out the following shift. You can also do this mid-game, so your lines will swap mid-shift.

Last Chance Puck Movements

The Last Chance Puck Movement is one of NHL 23's coolest new features. It's also acting as one of the best tips for beginners and even elite players. Because when it comes to hockey, one full-throttle attempt to get a shot or pass off can sometimes mean the difference between scoring a goal or backchecking to get on defense. These new desperation moves can also produce some pretty spectacular highlight real plays. All the same, you'll want to know how to use them.

You perform a desperation pass, by pressing your passing button twice. If you want to do a desperation shot, press your shot button twice, or move up on your right joystick (shooting joystick) twice. You'll want to do this whenever there's a loose puck in a scrum, or if you're on the forecheck and think you're going to get beat out to the puck. This way you can dive and sacrifice your player, but you'll get the shot off, or pass to your teammate.

Aiming Passes

Majority of the time in NHL 23, the team with the most time on attack ends up winning the game. And a big reason why some teams can dominate you in the offensive zone is that they have such accurate and quick passing. Good teams are always moving the puck to the open area of the ice to create a scoring chance, that's why it's one of the best tips for beginners. However, you've probably noticed that sometimes your passes can take a wild spin, far off from the intended target.

The most likely explanation for this is that you either failed to aim your pass or misaimed it. However, few people are aware that the left joystick, the same one that moves your player, also serves to aim your passes. Therefore, when making a pass, be sure to point your player in the precise location where you want the pass to land. It will take some practice to get the hang of it, but once you do, you'll be dominating the opposing zone and passing like a pro.

Always Up or Camera Relative

Regardless of which controls you're using, most players shoot the puck using the joystick. The same can be said if you use hybrid controls. However, not many players know, that when you switch sides in between periods, the camera angle change will affect how you shoot.

If you're pushing up on your left joystick, to skate up the ice, then you shoot by pulling back on the right joystick and flicking up. But if you're pushing your left joystick down to skate up the ice, you need to pull the right joystick up and flick it down to shoot. The second function can feel a little weird since it is the opposite motion of what you're used to.

But, you can change it to “Always Up”, so you're always pulling back on the right joystick and flicking up to shoot. You do this by going to options, controls, then under controls, you'll see “Shooting Controls”, switch it to “Always Up”. This way it will feel shooting will feel more natural when you're going in the opposite direction.

One Touch Dekes

Getting fancy and doing skill moves in NHL 23 can be extremely hard to learn. That's why one of the best tips for beginners who want to get fancy with scoring, is by using the one-touch dekes. You do this by pressing L1 on PlayStation or LB on Xbox. This will automatically perform a stylish deke that when used right can get you directly past a defender. You also determine which deke you'll do, by the direction and motion of your left and right joystick.

Now, of course, specializing the deke you want to do can get pretty confusing in terms of how to move the joystick. So for now it might just be best to tap the button and hope for the best. Or, you can head into practice mode and play around until you get the hang of it. Then, before you know it, you'll be pulling off highlight-reel goals like a magician.

So, what’s your take? Did these NHL 23 tips for beginners help? Are there other tips for NHL 23 that we should know about? Let us know in the comments below or over on our socials here!