{"id":225,"date":"2018-11-02T09:24:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T16:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hockeycircles.com\/articles\/?p=225"},"modified":"2018-11-02T09:58:12","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T16:58:12","slug":"offensive-tips-that-will-make-you-a-better-hockey-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsa.com\/articles\/offensive-tips-that-will-make-you-a-better-hockey-player.html","title":{"rendered":"Offensive tips that will make you a better hockey player"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take the puck across the net<\/h2>\n

\"Puck<\/p>\n

If you happen to find yourself approaching the net with speed or if you\u2019ve just beaten a defender wide, you should almost always\u00a0take the puck across the crease if you can.<\/p>\n

When goalies come out to challenge a shooter, particularly if they trust that a defensive player will be able to block a player from cutting across the net, they tend to come out fairly aggressively. If your sole mindset is to get across the crease and tuck one in, you just may be able to. Even if the goaltender doesn\u2019t come out hard, cutting across\u00a0opens him up – his five-hole, his armpits, everything. Anything you can put on net from there has a better chance of going in than shooting on a set tender.<\/p>\n

Bonus: when taking it across the crease you have so many options for a garbage goal, as well as the one you’re trying to pull off. Whether it goes in off a D mans skates, ping pongs round the crease or\u00a0accidentally goes through the 5-hole.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Change speeds on the rush<\/h2>\n
\"St.
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 13: Trevor Lewis #22 of the Los Angeles Kings skates with the puck against Alexander Steen #20 of the St. Louis Blues during the game on March 13, 2017 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can do it either way (quick to slow, slow to quick), but something you see Datsyuk, Kane, Crosby or Petterson and their kind do very well is fly into the zone, then tap the brakes, this does a few things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Temporarily freezes the D-men, stopping or slowing while backing up limits your mobility<\/li>\n
  • Creates gap between you and the D-men, giving you more time and options<\/li>\n
  • Allows your team-mates to catch up, which gives you even more options<\/li>\n
  • Allows you to move laterally – again, more options<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    You can also do it the other way – skate in casually until the D-man decides to engage, then boom, hit the gas, take it round the D-man and shoot on net.<\/p>\n

    Bonus: if you go fast to slow, the defenders back in deep, and can work as great screens for a shot.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Change the angle on shots<\/h2>\n

    \"Change<\/p>\n

    It doesn\u2019t take much to turn what would be a save into a goal. The trick is to have the puck out a bit wider than where you would normally shoot from, then give it a little toe pull into your feet before pulling the trigger. If the goalie was square to where the puck was initially, you\u2019ve now got it coming at him from a slightly different angle just seconds later. Even if you pull it in and choose to shoot it across the tender, it just forces him to compensate for one more thing.<\/p>\n

    Not only change changing the angle force a goalie into a poor position, you also have to be aware of “Shooters Illusion” where the view of puck is completely different to the view from the shooter – a great video from HowToHockey explains the effects of shooters illusion and how to see the net from the eyes of a puck<\/p>\n