There are a number of NHL 21 dekes available in the new EA hockey game, allowing gamers to fake out their opponents. For the most part, they’ll work on both human and AI goalies. Among the dekes is the difficult Lacrosse or Michigan. In this guide, we’ll show how to do the NHL 21 dekes known as the Kucherov and Svechnikov.
How to Do NHL 21 Dekes: The Kucherov
The Kucherov is one of the fun new NHL 21 dekes to use to fake out human opponents controlling the goalie. It’s based on Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov. As EA says in their gameplay it’s basically Nikita Kucherov’s “no-deke deke.” It works differently in terms of the controls depending on which hand is your player’s dominant hand, though.
Here’s how to do the Kucherov deke in NHL 21:
For a right-handed player:
- Press L1 (PS4) or LB (Xbox One).
- Flick Left Stick to the left.
- Flick Right Stick to the right.
Note: Make sure to swing from the left side to the right to get the puck on net.
For a left-handed player:
- Press L1 (PS4) or LB (Xbox One).
- Flick Left Stick to the right.
- Flick Right Stick to the left.
Note: Make sure to swing from the right side to the left to get the puck on net.
How to do Slips and Chips
In addition to the Kucherov and Michigan, there are some other easier NHL 21 dekes to use in the game. These include slips and chips, as well as banks, which can go off the boards or the back of the goal. They’ll basically help you free up space between yourself and a defender, or change directions behind the goal for a move to get away and maybe score.
How to do Slips and Chips:
Slips will help you free up some space as you skate close to the boards. It’s helpful for avoiding defenders.
To do Slips: Skate with the Left Stick along the boards and press L1 (PS4) or LB (Xbox One).
Chips also help with getting around a defender, but when you’re skating on the open ice.
To do Chips: As your skating, hold L1 (PS4) or LB (Xbox One). Press on the R1 (PS4) or RT (Xbox One).
How to do Banks in NHL 21
Banks will allow you to pass the puck off the boards to yourself.
To do regular Banks, you’ll need to be skating relatively close to the boards, but not right next to them. Hold L1 (PS4) or LB (Xbox One) and press the R2 (PS4) or RT (Xbox One) to bank it off the boards.
You can also do banks off the back of the net to help your player change up their direction. In the NHL 21 gameplay trailer, Sidney Crosby performed a move like this.
To do Net Banks, as you skate behind the goal/net area, hold L1 (PS4) or LB (Xbox One). Press R2 (PS4) or LT (Xbox One) to bank the puck off the net/goal.
Check out the video below to see each of the NHL 21 dekes in action with tips for performing them.
Visit our NHL 21 page for more of the latest game updates.