Anybody have any tips for passing?
When dealing with AI, I can't emphasize this enough: change the angle before passing!
The computer is anticipating your pass, in almost every situation. Say you're on a 2-on-1 and want to get the puck to your teammate. It's very likely that the computer dman is going to expect that and either intercept or deflect your pass if you try to send the puck "through" him. So you have to change the angle -- slow down a little bit, maybe cut to the middle just slightly, and THEN pass it to your now-wide-open linemate. If you're on your strong side (ie, right handed shot on the right side) it's slightly more difficult than the weak side (RHS on the left side).
In a cycling or zone-offense type situation, try not to get too focused on the slot. Sometimes I get in a rut where I'm just trying to get the puck to the slot ASAP and the AI will take the puck away all day. If that happens, move out to the halfboards where you can get the puck with a little bit of breathing room and make a move on the defender. If you're covered, push it back to your point man and let him draw the defense out, then stick-tap to get it back when you feel comfortable with the amount of space you're being given. If the only thing your team has open is the point or halfboard shot, take it. Remember that you can call for a shot the same way you call for a pass (R1 on the Xbox controller) and then just crash the net for a deflection or rebound chance. Eventually the computer will get spooked and open up some space in the slot, but in the meantime you really have to use your teammates to even have a chance at creating offense.
The AI is just a hell of a lot smarter this year, and a lot better at picking pucks out of the air.