Defense is a joke

I'm finding poke checks to be less reliable in NHL 26 compared to previous years.  It's not "broken", but there are many more instances where what should be a simple, quick poke on an exposed puck ends up doing nothing.

A couple of quick examples.  In both cases the defender is a teammate of mine running a TWD with 94 Defensive Awareness and Stick Checking.  No applicable X-Factors, but with those attributes I don't see why they'd be needed for these plays.

This is a direct poke on an unprotected puck and his stick just bounces off it like he's poking a brick wall.  If I had to guess the offensive player pulling the puck back into the defender's stick as he's getting ready to shoot somehow nullifies the poke.  But IMO a poke directly on the puck should do something here.

This next one is much more common in NHL 26 than in previous years.  Here the offensive player attempts a loose puck deke and the defender makes what I feel is a well-timed and aimed poke at the loose puck.   The poke is going directly at the exposed puck but at the last moment makes a move to circle around the puck instead of just following straight through.  This is just a quick tap of the poke button not DSS so it's out of the defender's control.  There's something off about poking against loose puck dekes this year.  I'm not saying it's the best defensive choice every time, but here I feel like there's no reason for the defender to miss this poke.