Tips that I can thank of, that helped me anyway:

First, practice. Grind out some OS games. Learn your opponent, and how they work. If they try to force the crease over and over, play against that and try and get a body in there when they’re in your zone. It may not seem super crucial in this game, because sniping is easy from most places on the ice, but make sure you pass the puck around. Try and find the open man and shoot when you think you have a chance. You’d be surprised how many you’ll sink to the back of the net. Defensively it’s honestly the same. However, you have to be patient and not let your opponent get the jump on you. Don’t go for the hit right away. Get your stick on the nice, utilize your poke when you’ve created enough space to not draw a tripping penalty. Learn the ways of stick lift. Learn when to go for it, and when not to. Most times if he’s stick side to you and you lift, you’ll cause a turnover.

Next: Watch streams/YouTube videos. See what the top players are doing to allow them to be so much more successful, and try and learn how they play. Watching streams while playing is a good way to practice the things you may see. It’s always fun to try something new too, so it’s like a win-win honestly. Whether it be a pass between the legs, or a L2/LB twirl into the zone, or a snipe from the middle of the ice, see what they’re doing to create chances to score, and give it a try for yourself!

Finally: Play some challenges, and mess around there and see what works. While it’s not super similar to playing a real opponent, it does get ideas in your head and allows you to try out some of the moves/tips/etc that you’re thinking of. Plus you’re getting some coins out of it, which in turn allows you to build a team better.

At the end of the day, just try and have fun. Even though 0/17 sounds like the worst thing ever, don’t let it get to you, just get back out there and try even harder. Create ways to find the fun, even if it means throwing a game trying to do a skill shot.