Isn't it kind of insulting to the NHL and the sport of hockey

---

@NeonSkyline21 wrote:

@Jagavekov while I agree with some of the things you mentioned (like Michigan attempts being through the roof and hip-checks being auto-explosions), I think some of the things you mentioned wanting to see ARE in fact in the game. 

I only play Online Versus so I can only talk about that mode but I utilize the following things in every game I play: 

• Dump ins: A lot of high-ranked versus players use the 1-4 neutral zone forecheck and are really good at taking away your carry options. Usually the best tactic in this case is to dump the puck with speed.
• Defense: Obviously the game has defense. I'm averaging a AGA of exactly 1.00 right now. 
• Loose pucks: I utilize the "puck-chop" to quickly move the puck along whenever I'm in a race to the puck in my defensive zone. Works very well. 

I think one thing you need to come to terms with is that, even in real life, dump-ins (which you seem to be in love with) aren't "fun" to use as a strategy. We get frustrated with dudes at IRL pickup/beer-league when they just dump the puck instead of trying to make a play or playing it back to the defense. While they ARE effective in the game if used at the right time (the neutral zone trap I was talking about earlier), they're not as fun to use and can be risky if you don't use them correctly. 

So, I get that you're frustrated at the moment, but I urge you to open your mind a bit. Maybe you're only playing WoC modes, in which case, idk! 

---

First of all, you might have used dump-ins to beat the 1-4 in previous years, as did I, but not this year.  The players in this game have a hard time getting enough power when dumping the puck to get it from the redline to the opponent's blueline, never mind getting it all the way to the opposite corner.  And the defencemen with the vertical reach and catching ability of Megatron make dump-ins even less viable this year.

Second of all, the game absolutely doesn't have much defense or loose pucks.  It is one controlled possession after another, like basketball.  I find that boring, I don't like basketball, I like hockey.   If you are only giving up one goal per game its because you probably control the puck in the opponent's end most of the game.

Dump-ins are not fun in this game because it is so difficult to forecheck.  The odds are so against you making a turnover that it is just giving possession away.  It could be fun if some of the defensive tools were more useful, and not every mechanic (and the momentumless skating) blatantly favored the puck carrier.

There are multiple times in this gif where in real life, either possession would be lost or a player would dump the puck off the glass or into the zone:

The first player who gets the pass and sprints to just before the redline with two opposing players in pursuit then stops and hovers horizontally with no momentum being accounted for whatsoever would have probably chipped the puck along the boards and taken a hit (or at least tried to avoid one) in real life.

The second player who did the Hokey Pokey in the neutral zone (again with momentumless skating physics) to avoid two opposing players then makes the pass to gain the zone would have probably either dumped the puck in.

These may seem like small plays to most people but they add up to the game being way too in control, with players and teams maintaining complete possession of the puck for too long.  Again, it resembles basketball or 2010's Barcelona soccer more than hockey.  What makes hockey fun is the constant changes of possession, loose pucks,  the physicality, the effect that skating momentum has on the play, etc.  This game is way too in control like basketball, its boring and not realistic.

Does this look like hockey to you:

One team controlling the puck for 20 seconds with a barrage of gliding with the stick held out to one side, backhand passes, and extremely passive defending with no contact or physicality whatsoever?  It looks like basketball, not hockey.