I agree with PlayoffError, I think stamina as a concept isn't what's actually broken (though I feel like the level of drain could be tweaked). The problem is with the way hitting and truculence works. Hitting is just too over the top, especially with blue or red truculence. You can get massive hits that kill stamina even when the hitter doesn't have much momentum or good aim. And as mentioned above, the window for allowing unpenalized late hits is way too large. It turns overpowered hits as the way to play defense and it starts to feel like NHL Hitz.
As for the Pressure Meter, this is another example of lack of subtlety for this series. It was a new marketable feature so it was slapped center stage (big red meter on ice) and has an over-sized impact on gameplay. Again, arcade-like. A little subtlety would fix the problem in my mind. Don't remove the feature, just make the pressure reset at every non-icing faceoff. Make it a more rare, true reward for sustained attack time. Give the defending team a chance to counter by getting a goalie cover (like in the real NHL). Take the big red meter off the ice...give context clues by a crowd that is increasingly cheering or booing to let you know pressure is up. Put an indicator on the boards if you need to.
Edit: I am aware that you can turn off the pressure meter indicator on the ice (I've had it off since they allowed us the choice). The main point is big, in-your-face vs more measured implementation.