Ahead of its release date of October 16th on PlayStation 4, and Xbox One - EA has announced new details on this year’s iteration of NHL21, developed over in EA’s Vancouver office. You can check out some of the highlights in the trailer below.

Offensive Gameplay

Inspired by the creativity of Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid and others, the team has added four groundbreaking new moves to the offensive arsenal – “no move” deke, behind the net bank, between-the-legs one timer and “The Michigan.” In addition to the highlight reel material, a multitude of slips, banks and chips help maintain speed and aggression when moving into the offensive zone. 

Neutral Zone

The most dominant teams in the NHL use fluidity through the neutral zone to generate dangerous scoring opportunities. In NHL 21, AI has been improved to ensure that lines move as a unit in all three zones, filling the proper lands and gaps to make for smooth breakouts, crisp transitions and dangerous scoring chances. 

Defensive Zone 

In NHL 21 breakouts have become significantly more important, as AI updates see teams forecheck aggressively as a unit. Defensive strategy has been geared towards neutralizing speed and forcing offenses to move east and west instead of north and south. Goalies have improved control in responsiveness in all situations, allowing for never-say-die moments. 

Also announced for this years game is NHL 94 rewind, a currently-only-preorder-bonus which takes the rosters and stars of today’s NHL, but gives it the graphics and gameplay of NHL 94, which was first released on Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and Super Nintendo in 1993 and is arguably the most famous game in the series.

NHL21 will be out on PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 16th, and unlike Madden, it will not get a patch for next-gen, though will play on next-gen consoles.