Fighting has been a staple in hockey for decades, so it’s no shock to see that you can choose to take on opposing players in virtual fist-to-cuffs in NHL 21. So how do you start a fight in NHL 21, and how you can ensure that you come out victorious in scraps that take place on the ice? Let’s go over everything you need to know about fighting, plus controls and tips that you should keep in mind.
How to start a fight
There are a couple of ways to start a fight in NHL 21, but the easiest way to do so is press Y/Triangle before the play. This will initiate a fight invitation, but the trick here is that even though you might want to fight, the opponent will still have to accept. In order to accept a fight invitation, press Y/Triangle when the dialog box pops up on the bottom of the screen.
But there are other ways besides this method. You can also start a fight by performing one of these steps:
- Start a fight by laying a hard body check – This step can vary, as on some occasions, a fight may not be initiated in this manner
- Shoot the puck towards the goalie after a play – This is considered taboo in hockey, so doing this is essentially initiating a fight. However, the opponent still needs to accept.
Controls
Fighting controls in NHL 21 are rather simple to figure out. Here are the controls that you’ll need to know for fights in this year’s game:
| Move | Xbox One Control(s) | PS4 Control(s) |
| Grab | LT (Hold) | L2 (Hold) |
| Fake Grab | LT | L2 |
| Overhand Punch | RS (Up) | Right Analog (Up) |
| Uppercut | RS (Down) | Right Analog (Down) |
| Push | LS (Up) | Left Analog (Up) |
| Pull | LS (Down) | Left Analog (Down) |
| Block/Lean Back | RT (Hold) | R2 (Hold) |
| Dodge | RT | R2 |
Tips for fighting
Before you start a scrap, or accept a fight invitation, remember as to what’s at stake. First off, make sure that you understand that winning a fight will re-fill the energy bars for all forward lines and defensive pairings. While you will lose a player on the ice for five minutes, it might be worth it if you need some extra energy.
Second, make sure that you don’t use one of your best players to either accept or initiate a fight. Usually, elite players don’t have the best fighting attributes in the game. And, more importantly, doing so with one of your best skaters will take that player off the ice for five minutes.
As far as tips for an actual fight, the key in fighting is not how many punches are thrown, but rather who comes out on top. What we mean by that is this: don’t approach a fight like you are in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. In a fight, each attempted punch that is thrown wastes stamina, meaning that you must be judicious when scraping. While it might feel good to throw a flurry of punches at first, it won’t when you have no energy left.
To avoid this, make sure that you use blocks and dodges liberally. In most cases, the opponent will just try to whack you as much as possible. Wait the opposition’s attacks out, and then strike when that player has little energy left.
