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NHL 14 Review

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Having played EA Sports’s NHL franchise for many years, I’ve seen the greatness that was NHL ’94, the complete overhauls over the next few years that continued the tradition of excellence, the lean years of the early to mid 2000s, and the return of to glory that started with NHL 09. The newest version, NHL 14, released on September 10th. It’s likely the swan song for the current generation of consoles, with the PlayStation 4 and XBOX One releasing this November. This is not to say that EA will stop making the NHL games for the PS3 and X360, but the focus will clearly be on the newer platforms.

EA hyped this game by advertising a new fighting engine and enforcer mechanics, as well as better goalie, shooting, deflection, and defensive AI. The new fighting/enforcer engine is very well done. Fights are now triggered by big hits on star players, or illegal hits on most anyone. Players still have the option to decline fights in multiplayer, so there’s no risk of losing a top skater for five minutes because you crushed some poor soul along the boards. As for the remainder of the AI changes, they’re a mixed bag. Defenders are much better at positioning, which was the biggest problem in NHL 13‘s on ice play. It was too easy to blow by a defenseman who wasn’t perfectly placed, and the changes made for this year have mostly remedied that. Shooting and deflections are better as you can now shoot the puck flush to the ice, as opposed to always having at least a little elevation. AI teammates now actively try to redirect the puck on net, as opposed to it randomly flying off in any direction. However, the goalies are awful. For all the changes made since NHL 13, somehow the goaltenders came out far worse than they were before. Previously, goalies were able to make crazy, unrealistic saves on some shots, but were embarrassingly bad at covering high to the stick side and the five-hole. Now, it’s an absolute free-for-all. Goalies are better positioned and have a harder time reacting to screens, which is good, but in NHL 14 it seems that the average goalie couldn’t stop a child from scoring on him. It is now far too easy to score goals, and many games I play end with scores like 6-5 as opposed to the more realistic 2-1’s and 3-2’s that NHL 13 produced. The new one-touch deke system also falls a bit short. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that it can be a fairly awkward system to use. I liked being able to toe drag people into submission and pop the puck over a defender while avoiding a hit. This system is more focused on cutbacks and while it works, it isn’t as fun as the old system to me.

NHL 14 features a revamped version of the old Be A Pro mode, dubbed Live The Life in this title. In it, the old standby features of Be A Pro are complemented by added statistics regarding your likability to fans, management, teammates, and families. To affect these attributes, different multiple-choice events will pop up sporadically as you progress. These can be interviews, your teammates daring you to do something, nutrition choices, and more. The same expectation system and coach’s grades from previous years persist in this game, largely unchanged. They remain based around the player type you select for your pro. Snipers will be asked to score goals, playmakers are told to tally assists, two-way forwards have to do a little bit of everything, and so on. While the mode is more fun than in years’ past, some of the same problems are still present. Teammate AI, though better, is still subpar. They will still make bad passes, get caught out of position, and take bad shots. The goalies are worse than before, allowing soft goals left and right. The worst part about this mode from back then is the line change AI, and that still hasn’t been fixed. Oftentimes I start a shift with the puck either deep in my zone or the other team rushing in during a 2 on 1, and we get scored on. This craters my plus-minus rating, which is one of the requirements to unlock items and progress your player.

Live The Life Screenshot Source - Web Guy Unlimited
Live The Life Screenshot
Source – Web Guy Unlimited

GM Connected returns with a faster user interface and less delay in the menus. For those who are unaware, GM Connected allows you and up to 749 (you read that right, 749) others compete online in an NHL season. You can take control of a team as the general manager, be a player on the team, or coach a team. It’s a great concept for a game mode, but it still isn’t quite right. Weird things like trade exploits and sloppy menus keep the mode from being truly great. I personally am hoping for a fix in next year’s game on the new consoles. I think another great feature that is missing from this mode is the option to have a live fantasy draft for your league. The fantasy draft option is in the game for season and Be A GM modes, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to implement here.

Hockey Ultimate Team also returns with minimal improvements. In this mode, you buy packs of cards containing players, jerseys, contracts, attribute boosts, and arenas, which all go towards constructing your very own hockey team. Packs are bought with either EA Pucks, which are earned in the various game modes (you earn the most at a time by playing HUT though) or by paying real money. Once you’re ready to play, you can take your team into tournaments against the AI or online to battle other players’ teams. It’s an interesting way for people to build a team from scratch, but it takes a long time to save up for any of the good packs (gold and up, and even then you won’t get many top-tier players) and people who aren’t willing to go through the grind are going to get bored quickly.

Now, to the part of the review that I was really hoping that I wouldn’t have to write. Seemingly every EA Sports title that comes out has freezing/glitching issues. In NHL, said problems are often centered around the Custom Music feature. I love the idea of it, since EA’s musical selection for its games is normally terrible and I’d rather not hear the same ten songs repeatedly while playing. For last year’s NHL 13, I went all out with it and made a separate playlist for each team. In NHL 14, I brought the old playlists over and added three more songs per team. Even after installing the game to my hard drive and taking great care of the disc, in ’13 I still had freezes occurring sometimes due to the music not being loaded properly by the game. In ’14, half the time I play the game it freezes at some point, most often right after the final buzzer and the home team’s win song gets played (goal horn + whatever playlist you pick). As far as glitches go, the same glitch goals from the previous games exist, and a handful of new ones have already been discovered. This coupled with the community make online play an absolute mess. I usually refuse to touch online play in sports games, because people are too lazy and immature to actually learn how to play the game and instead resort to these exploits, and this game is no different.

Gameplay screenshot of NHL 14. Source - Operation Sports
Gameplay screenshot of NHL 14.
Source – Operation Sports

When the game runs properly, NHL 14 is a solid hockey title that delivers fluid skating, hellaciously fun fighting, an immersive mode in Live The Life, and an overall more realistic hockey sim than NHL 12 and NHL 13 when it comes to everything but scoring. However, as it stands right now the game is a glitch and bug-filled mess. EA is supposedly working on patches and ways to fix the issues, but these are things that should have been addressed in production and not post-release. The sooner they fix the freezes and exploits, the sooner we can all get to enjoying the game, but until then I’m giving NHL 14 a grade of Incomplete on the grounds that due to some bugged features it can be unplayable for some. Once fixed, I’d say this is a B+ title.

System: XBOX 360, Playstation 3
Genre: Sports/Hockey
Players: 1-4 offline, 2-12 online (simultaneous)
Price: $59.99

Is There An NHL Curse?

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We already know all about the Madden Curse. Nearly every player who has ever appeared on the cover of a Madden NFL video game has gone on to either have a bad season or bad injury befall them that year. The only two exceptions are Vince Young, who was the cover athlete of Madden 08, and Larry Fitzgerald, who was one of the two players featured on Madden 10 alongside Troy Polamalu (who missed most of that season with multiple knee injuries). Young’s career hit a downward spiral following a solid 2007 season, and though Fitzgerald has turned in good numbers since the 2009 season, he has not matched the 97 receptions he had that year. Since I’m more of a hockey buff, I wanted to examine whether the same applies to developer EA’s NHL series of games. Let’s take a look at the cover athletes:

  • NHL Hockey (1991) – Kelly Hrudey: Hrudey, who was the starting goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings, posted a 27-17-13 record in 60 appearances in the 1991-92 season. He had a 3.37 GAA (goals against average) and a .897 save %, which for those times wasn’t too bad. Nowadays, both those figures would be considered awful. The Kings finished second in the Smythe Division but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Edmonton.
  • NHLPA Hockey ’93 – Rod Brind’Amour, Mike Richter, and Randy Moller: None of these players enjoyed their usual team success, as the Flyers and Rangers both missed the playoffs. However, Brind’Amour notched a career high 37 goals in 1992-93.
  • NHL 94 – Andy Moog: Even though Moog is depicted on the cover in his Boston threads (he played for the Bruins the prior year), he had been traded to Dallas. Moog backstopped a high-octane Stars squad and helped them reach the second round of the playoffs before losing to Vancouver in five games. Moog wasn’t a starter for much longer in the NHL, but he remained a reliable backup for a few more years.
  • NHL 95 – Alexei Kovalev and Kirk McLean: Kovalev’s numbers slipped in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, scoring only 28 points in the 48 game campaign. The defending champion Rangers barely got into the playoffs as the #8 seed, but upset top-seeded Quebec in the first round. MacLean’s Canucks similarly struggled, but also made the playoffs and pulled a first round upset over St. Louis. McLean himself posted a career best .904 save %.
  • NHL 96 – Scott Stevens and Steve Yzerman: Yzerman’s Red Wings would post a record of 62-13-7, good for 131 points, which is the second-highest total of all-time. The Red Wings did not bring the Stanley Cup to Detroit, however, as they lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Colorado Avalanche in six games. Stevens and the Devils didn’t even get the chance to defend their title from the previous year, as they failed to reach the playoffs.
  • NHL 97 – John Vanbiesbrouck: Vanbiesbrouck led the upstart Florida Panters to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1995-96, but his success didn’t end there. He was named the starting goaltender for the Eastern Conference All-Stars in 1997 and the Panthers again finished with a solid record (35-28-19). The Panthers did not match their playoff success, however, as they lost to the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.
  • NHL 98 – Peter Forsberg: Forsberg scored 91 points for the Avalanche, who again won the Pacific Division. However, they were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Edmonton, a team that finished the regular season with a losing record (35-37-10)
  • NHL 99 – Eric Lindros: Lindros appeared in 71 games for the Flyers, scoring 93 points, but suffered a scary injury near the end of the regular season. Lindros sustained a rib injury during a game at Nashville, but was later found by teammate Keith Jones in a bathtub at the team hotel. Lindros had a collapsed lung and needed to be rushed to the hospital. He missed the remainder of the season, and the Flyers were eliminated by Toronto in the first round of the playoffs.
  • NHL 2000 – Chris Pronger: Pronger set career highs in points (62) and plus/minus (+52). The Blues won their only Presidents’ Trophy to date with a 51-19-11-1 record, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Sharks.
  • NHL 2001 – Owen Nolan: Nolan’s season was shortened to just 57 games due to injuries as he tallied 49 points. The Sharks made the playoffs, but St. Louis got revenge for the previous year’s upset and took them out in six games.
  • NHL 2002 – Mario Lemieux: Lemieux was given the cover about ten years too late, but at least he graced it once in his career. His season consisted of only 24 games due to injuries and preferring to play in the Olympics, but it did have one shining moment; radio personality Mark Madden said he would donate $6,600 to Lemieux’s foundation if the hockey great scored off of a faceoff, and Lemieux delivered that same night. Pittsburgh finished last in the Atlantic Division.
  • NHL 2003 – Jarome Iginla: Iginla missed seven games due to injuries but still led the Flames with 35 goals. However, Calgary slumped and finished with only 75 points, last in the strong Northwest Division. Iginla assumed the captaincy for Calgary and has continued to put up solid numbers.
  • NHL 2004 – Dany Heatley and Joe Sakic: A little-known fact about this game in the series is that the cover athlete was originally supposed to be Joe Thornton. This was retracted when Thornton was accused of assaulting two police officers. Heatley graced the cover from the game’s release until his tragic car accident that killed teammate Dan Snyder. EA then tabbed Joe Sakic, who amassed 87 points for Colorado. The Avs were bounced in the second round by San Jose.
  • NHL 2005 – Markus Naslund: This was the season lost to the lockout. Naslund played 13 games for Modo in Sweden, scoring 17 points. Modo lost in the first round of the Elitserien playoffs to Farjestads. Naslund had one more stellar season, in 2005-06, scoring 79 points. His scoring output declined for the rest of his career.
  • NHL 06 – Vincent Lecavalier: Captaining the defending champion Lightning coming out of the lockout, Lecavalier put up 75 points in 80 games. Tampa Bay made the playoffs as the 8th seed and lost to the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs.
  • NHL 07 – Alexander Ovechkin: Ovechkin finished the year with 92 points, but the Capitals finished in last place in the Southeast Division. However, the following offseason was a huge turning point for Washington, as they had a number of breakout stars alongside Ovechkin and made some great offseason moves to build themselves into a sustained power in the Eastern Conference.
  • NHL 08 – Eric Staal: Staal appeared in all 82 games for the Hurricanes and posted 82 points and continued to provide strong leadership. However, Carolina lost three of their final four games and missed the playoffs, finishing two points behind the 8th seeded Boston Bruins.
  • NHL 09 – Dion Phaneuf: One of the few players on this list to play poorly after being the cover athlete, Phaneuf had a career low 11 goals and 47 points. Since then, he has only topped 11 goals once (12, last season) and has never reached 47 points (he had 44 last year), but that can be attributed to playing on an offensively-challenged Toronto team since the middle of the 2009-10 season.
  • NHL 10 – Patrick Kane: EA decided not to take Kane off the cover after he was arrested in Buffalo on charges of robbery, theft of services, and criminal mischief. Kane allegedly punched a cab driver after the driver informed Kane that he did not have proper change for Kane’s fare. This poor guy got decked over 20 cents. I wish I were making that up. Anyway, Kane scored 88 points (oddly enough, that’s his jersey number) as well as the game winning goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, making him the only player on this list whose team went on to win the Cup.
  • NHL 11 – Jonathan Toews: Not to be outdone by his Chicago teammate who was on the cover the previous year, Toews scored a career high 76 points. However, the Western Conference proved to be rugged, as Chicago needed every one of its 97 points to take the 8th seed into the playoffs, where they lost to Vancouver in seven games.
  • NHL 12 – Steven Stamkos: Fresh off his team’s appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before, Stamkos became the 20th player in NHL history to score 60 goals. Unfortunately, the Lightning struggled mightily as they couldn’t stop anyone, allowing a league-high 281 goals. They finished 10th in the East and out of the playoffs.
  • NHL 13 – Claude Giroux: The first player to be elected via fan vote as the cover athlete, Giroux scored 48 points in this shortened season. As usual, Philadelphia struggled to stop opposing teams and even the offense went flat at times. The Flyers missed the playoffs this year.

So, is there a curse to EA’s NHL series? I have to say no, as there hasn’t been a consistency when it comes to player failures in the seasons they’re featured on the cover. There also isn’t a spike in production for these players, either. It seems as though any sort of voodoo or hexes that are associated with sports games are limited to the Madden franchise. It’s a good thing that the next Madden game will feature Barry Sanders on the cover, because he’s been retired for 15 years now. Or, maybe Sanders should look over his shoulder this year. You never know…

Islanders Pick Up A Nice W, While The Knicks and Rangers Each Drop One At MSG

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There are two professional sports traditions in the New York Metro area every Martin Luther King day. Every MLK day both the New York Islanders and the New York Knicks host matinees as most people are off from work while all are off from school to honor the American Icon. This year it was no different as the Islanders hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Knickerbockers entertained the Brooklyn Nets.

 

First to the ice.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. David Ullstrom scored early in the third period which would give Islanders a dominant four goal lead, but I will divert to the ole’ adage “it aint over till the fat lady sings”. Tampa Bay would score the next 3 and would

Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves in the victory on the Island
Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves in the victory on the Island

cool off the young crowd at the coliseum. Luckily for their fans the Isles would escape with a narrow victory as mental mistakes and errors, which would lead to crucial penalties, would mar the final few minutes.

Jack Capuano the coach of the Islanders would take part in his first game of the season as he missed Saturday’s opening night as he was hospitalized due to surgery to remove a kidney stone. Michael Grabner, Matt Martin and Kyle Okposo would also light the lamp in addition to Ullstrom. For the Lightning Martin St.Louis, Benoit Pouliot and 2012 NHL scoring leader Steven Stamkos would tally in the loss. Both Teams are 1-1 with 2 points. The Islanders next contest will be Thursday as they head north of the border for a conference matchup vs Toronto.

 

The afternoon finale on the Hardwood.

The suddenly mediocre New York Knicks hosted the upstart Brooklyn Nets. The Knicks have play once in a week as they traveled across the Atlantic for a game verse Detroit this past Thursday. The Knicks would come into MLK day dropping their previous two MLK contests. Would traveling and jet lag fatigue be a factor?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Former All star Joe Johnson made a go-ahead shot with 22 seconds left as his 25 points would lead the Black & White from Brooklyn to a 88-85 over there rivals from Manhattan. In the first year of the Brooklyn Nets they would split the 4 game regular season series. The Knicks who came into the day with a two game division lead had it cut 1 as suddenly they are reeling on their home floor.

Three Nets players would register double doubles including Kris Humphries who was a spark plug off the bench. Carmelo Anthony for the Knicks would drain 29 points but would come up short in the fourth quarter shooting 0-6 from the field. Melo looked tired and drained as his baseline attempt in the final minute looked deflated. Melo would gain separation from the defender and come up with a great look from 12 feet, but looked lethargic in the actual execution. The Knicks are 4-6 in their last ten while Brooklyn is 9-1. It doesn’t get much easier for NYK as they will head to Boston Thursday for a 8pm contest vs the Celtics. Brooklyn is 12-2 since PJ Carlesimo took over as head coach December 27th.

Joe Johnson Scores a basket with under :30 seconds to play to send Brooklyn back to the 718 with a victory
Joe Johnson Scores a basket with under :30 seconds to play to send Brooklyn back to the 718 with a victory

Injury Report:

Amare Stoudemire (Damaged Knee Tissue Debridement Surgery) would play 27 minutes which is the most he has since complaining of knee soreness on January 7th. This was Amare’s 8th contest of the season; in those he has averaged 10.4 PPG while averaging 20.8 minutes.

Iman Shumpert (Torn ACL & Meniscus) scored 2 points and played 20 minutes, which is his limit per game to start. As his season progresses he is expected to extend those minutes based on a timetable and overall comfort. Shumpert’s defense which is his staple is almost on point, which shooting and timing will get better with more playing time.

 

Sunday (Jan 20)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – With this lockout shortened 48 game season has commenced every day is double as important. The Pittsburgh Penguins have four points and lead the Atlantic Division. On the Flipside the Vegas favorite New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers have zero. With the season being so short, it is never to early to look a head to the post season. When Pascal Dupuis tallied the Penguins fourth goal of the game just 29 minutes into the contest it would chase the reigning Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lunqvist in favor of back up Martin Biron. All en route to a 6-3 Penguins victory. “Personally, it was a tough night,” Lundqvist said. “I don’t really have a good explanation. I just have to keep working hard and try to get better. “I understand the decision. It’s a game where right from the get-go, it felt like the puck was really bouncing my way.”

“I don’t think we’re pushing panic buttons,” said new Rangers addition Rick Nash. “It’s not the start we wanted. We’ve got to get back to work. There are a lot of mistakes out there we have to correct. It’s a short season, so we’ve got to correct them fast.”