Do people actually enjoy this game?

NHL 26

I play BAP exclusively so that’s my only experience with NHL 26. 
As unpopular as my opinion might be, I play every day and I do enjoy it for the most part. 

The pros: EA improved the game by what they didn’t put in, mainly the in-game coach’s challenges which broke the pace and flow of the game and were pretty pointless. Yeah coach. I realize we’re down by a goal and we need the next one. Yes, of course I’m “up for it.” 
I mean, no, right? 
It’s also been pretty stable as far as freezing and crashing go, at least for me. That was an issue in ‘21 and’23 (although they seemed to remove certain cut scenes which made ‘23 better).

Cons: My single biggest issue is the horrible ai. It’s been bad for years, but when a defenseman puts it into our own goal twice in the same game and my +/- (and form score) suffers from it I get a little annoyed. And the “d” leaving the low slot unprotected  and just standing off to the side: inexcusable. And it’s not much better at the offensive end. Linemates don’t try to get open in the slot, and will accept my pass in the neutral zone with plenty of open ice in front of them only to skate directly into the defense. 😡

Neautral: The patches to the energy and form score aspects have helped since the troubled release. The energy portion is more than manageable for me, but the form score is still off. I am on the first line as I’ve used some of the workarounds and only play at the “Pro” level. I’ve always had a strong defensive focus in my game regardless of position so reaching the necessary form score would be impossible for me at the higher levels. I’ll play a beautiful defensive game and even get an assist and my form score is less than flattering. It seems to require multiple apples or a goal in the mix to get the score up to where it should be. Like I said, it’s manageable but still misses the mark. 

Edit: Removed profanity. Please do not circumvent the profanity filter. -CM