My final NHL game

Had a perfect example last night, I did not clip any of the game, however. I do have a screenshot of the box score, though. Shots and zone time were in our favor (but this obviously shouldn’t indicate an automatic win), we had quality scoring chances throughout the entire game, yet lost 10-8 because our opponent exploited the AI defense and goaltending being unable to read the same exact play 9 different times. All it took was a faceoff win and the other team had pretty much free access for a breakaway since the computer simply is not fast enough or smart enough to read the same player streaking down the wall with “Wheels”, going forehand backhand and scoring on a breakaway. I know playing with a computer isn’t going to necessarily give us an “advantage” but if it cannot stop the same exact play 9 times in the same game, I think there’s a problem. Players shouldn’t be discouraged from playing 2 on 3 in EASHL, but unfortunately that’s what’s driven me to change my decision on this game. Truculence might be tamer in 6 on 6, but in 3 on 3 (especially playing with an AI defender), it’s pretty much game breaking. Truculence eliminates your passing options by knocking players out of a play for 3-5 seconds. I remember earlier in this game’s existence when players would all wear truculence and make it impossible to possess the puck.

When I say unplayable, I mean unenjoyable. It’s not a very fun or rewarding game anymore. It seems like it’s not a very popular game among the fanbase anymore either, but I’d love to see the stats on sales and concurrent players year to year and hope I would be proved otherwise.

As for my club again, We don’t try to milk shots for tips or shoot for careless rebounds. In the 10-8 game I referenced earlier, I can assure you we had genuine 2 on 1 and quality one-timer chances. It really does seem like our computers play genuinely worse when we play 2 on 3. They’re completely ineffective in that capacity. I have a separate clip of a different game of our computer missing 2 open nets though, it was a good laugh until we lost the game by a goal.

The reason why we play 2 on 3? Our longtime 3rd member refuses to buy the game this year. There is no incentive for him anymore to pay the $60, or even the discounted prices, to play this game.