Back when I was in college, I think probably my Senior year, I got into the current NHL game, whatever it was (NHL 99?). Coincidentally, I played as the Colorado Avalanche... I've always meant to get a new copy, especially now that I actually play hockey, and this year I got around to it.
It plays a lot like I remember it. It's a fun game to sit down, play a game or two, and move on with your life. Gameplay tends to be a bit silly, but enjoyable. One-timers are pretty much how the game is played, as the keepers tend to be inhumanly talented at stopping slapshots and breakaways, but are easily beaten by a one-timer from the back door. On lower difficulty levels it's fairly easy to deke the keeper into laying out so a shot can be thrown top shelf, but on the level I play, he won't generally buy a fake, and only the absolute best wrist shot (Milan Hejduk on the Avs), can score without help.
The animations are pretty good, there's a variety of different shooting motions the players will take, depending on their position around the net, the location of the puck, etc. It ends up looking pretty good, with the occasional bizzare looking backhand shot thrown in. The goal celebrations are a bit sparse, though, and checking animations don't always look as jarring as they might.
The voiceover audio is very good, with complete player names, some decent contextual commentary, and player specific stuff, although it does get a bit repetitive when you play a whole season as one team. “There's not a lot of players left in the league that can make an opponent look silly, but Alex Tanguay is sure one of them.”
All in all, a nice simple game at the core, one that plays smoothly and feels right.