NHL 18 is about giving fans the tools to be as creative as the players from xingwang's blog

NHL 18 is about “giving fans the tools to be as creative as the players on the ice,” Ramjagsingh told Polygon. To that end, EA Vancouver is adding all kinds of new skill moves to the game, including one-handed dekes and the aforementioned Datsyukian puck flip. You’ll be able to NHL 18 Coins chain those moves together, if you’re playing as an NHL star who is a skilled enough dangler.

These kinds of moves will be accessible even for people who aren’t longtime fans of EA’s hockey franchise. Holding L1/LB and tapping a face button will initiate one of the deke animations; you won’t need fancy finger work on the analog sticks. Advanced players will be happy to hear that EA Vancouver is tuning the manual stick deking to provide a more one-to-one feel, based on feedback from fans who said they liked the responsiveness of deking in the franchise’s last-generation heyday.

Defense in NHL 18 is also focused on giving you “full control of your stick,” said Ramjagsingh. Now you’ll be able to hold the R1/RB button and have complete control of your stick’s position. (Tapping it still does a poke check.) Simply holding the button will keep your stick in front of you, which is useful for deflecting shots out of play, and moving the right analog stick will let you sweep your hockey stick back and forth.