Reading through the recent thread a bit.
Yeah, the defensive play is impossible. It's just filled with people stretching the puck away to try and draw a tripping penalty.
If you poke check? penalty.
Try and hit them? your hit does nothing and they maintain the puck and usually get around you.
The window to do a board battle is insanely small.
Let them go to the outside and position yourself to intercept a pass? Still a 50% at least the pass goes right by your player and to the other player for a cross crease goal.
This is legitimately the least I've played the game, despite enjoying the potential of the gameplay. Franchise was broken for a while, which is the mode I tend to play. and it took so long to get fixed, so then I went to do all my roster editing, and then somehow that save file got deleted and lost my interest of putting any more effort in there.
I refuse to play HUT, because frankly, it's not fun. Everyone gets the same OP cards, so there's minimal variance, and then you deal with the same gameplay flaws in just how people play. I also think anyone who complains that NHL focuses too much on HUT, should never open the mode. I have, so I don't.
So I only really play EASHL with the mates maybe once every couple weeks. It's a shame. I love NHL games, and as mentioned, I think the gameplay had soooo much potential based on the shooting and skating improvements.
And even then, the gameplay is still the same stuff, and you need to play into it.
Get a penalty shot? Start wide, cut in to the shot and score short-side. Pretty much a 75% success rate, if not higher.
During gameplay? Go for a cross crease.
Have a breakaway? Do the one handed deke that works far too often.