Don't know why the dev team even made any adjustments to stick lifting and poke checking between NHL 25 and NHL 26. The balance in ability for what you could do while stick checking in general with small characters really added to making the game feel more like hockey. Not every player on real ice is going to destroy someone with a hit, at most you could see one devastating hit per week in the NHL, with stick checking and smart defensive play being what helps win games, it's frustrating how doing those in NHL 26 only seems to result in a goal let up.