Yes, the game is different.
Less entertainment, less characters, less violence, less spontaneity and creativity at the top. More sophisticated coaching schemes, better conditioning, worse (in terms of size and weaponry) equipment, more PC, more commercial, more marketed. Way better coverage and access today though. The players are definitely more robotic today. The average game is rather blah, compared to the 70s and 80s. In the 80s, the average game was an event. Goals, fights, hitting, mayhem, unpredictability, fun. Goalies with smaller equipment flopping around like acrobatic fish, making splendid kick saves... snipers beating goalies top shelf with slappers across the line, defensemen going out of position looking for a massive hit.