It was just an easy way for EA to make the game "appear" different with minimal effort/not really changing anything of substance. In reality all it does is make the ice appear WAY more cluttered-no one likes this(makes the game look SUPER ARCADEY, to match the new game play I guess?)
This game play AND presentation looks/feels like something from the 90's. A full price AAA sports game should try to recreate a SIM sports experience, This is the MOST ARCADE STYLE SPORTS GAME i've played in well over a decade(coming from a guy that buys NBA2k,Madden,NHL and usually fifa every year for the most part)