I play a lot of defense in 6v6, and you pretty much described what I have to do in order to have a chance. Slow down their rush and pray that my team mates want to do some back checking. I would liked to see a pressure button that could be used to make the A I attack the puck carrier like in FIFA.

This sounds like a year-end review instead of a reaction. Personally, I think the sustained pressure system could be a very good addition so long as they're willing to listen to feedback once people get their hands on the game. From what I could tell in the playtest, pokechecking is more effective but you can't spam it (which is good), and checking is skill-based insead of useless. In the NHL, if you get hemmed in shift after shift and give up scoring chance after scoring chance, you're gonna lose 95% of the time. As it should be. Better checking and more effective stick checking, with the elimination of L2 skating, could simply make D Zone play more engaging than just sitting in a tight box and defending the net. Point shots will actually be useful this year for scoring and creating scrambles, just like they are in real life. I'd reserve these kinds of harsh judgements until we've played the game for a while and we can see how players are using the systems.

Play by play commenters sometimes hint at the fact that there's already a form of momentum meter implemented in the game. I think your analysis is right on the money, but I would add this: sustained pressure system already exists to some extend, it's not even a new feature. We already see it in action when passes go through defenders, hits easily bump people from pucks or weak shots go in. Now all they did was to put it in plain sight.

you know what I just thought of...….. I wonder how this pressure system play's into Be A Pro because if your a defensive player like myself we can't leave our assigned area which is Infront of the goalie and the net or they'll consider us out of position if scored on and point's will be deducted from our grades. So if we can't leave our position were assigned and the pressure system is meant to get us to be more aggressive on the defensive side so that we I guess break the pressure then how would that work because it sounds like either a lot of goal's are going in or a lot of grade's in be a pro will be low due to the fact of being out of position to break the pressure system also........i think the pressure system would of made perfect sense had the re worked the A.I so the computer can learn how to cycle to the puck and actually set up play's on and off the power play

Line changes would be doing the most to be honest. It’s adding an entire new element to a game that still needs fine tuning in its current state. That being said the new pressure system is a thumbs up for me, especially if it encourages different types of goals to go in due to the defense nerf. I like this way better than ”who is better at going for the same specific high chance opportunities” Meta tbh.

Maybe a little boost to accuracy if the puck is passed like 2-3 times in a certain amount of time too idk

I think this is put in for the reward on cycling the puck and getting the defense tires but to decrease all attributes and endurance that should be fixed

Completely agree with this. Also not an fan of the goalies legs simply not working and then flopping around on their ass when they get fatigued. Good video

I just want line changes where I can customize like 4 separate skaters individually and use all 4 in the game. You can even do a momentum thing where your bench regens extra burst energy each time a shot is fired on the opposing net, to incentivize aggressiveness and good line rotation.

They really need to focus on goaltending and Ai iq before adding anything

Honestly the new additions to the game seem fun and even if they end up being not great at least we have a new game with some noticeable changes instead of just the typical one or two small changes or new features.

Spot on everything dude!

I actually like the idea of the system, but it could be improved. It definitely needs work on how pressure builds. It shouldn’t just be possession that increases it. Instead, it should only increase with passing and shots on goal. I think it should also increase specific amounts based on where in the zone the puck is being played. If you want to pass it around the point in a safe manner, you can do that, but it will take a lot longer to build lots of pressure. If you are passing in the slot and playing the puck in close, then it builds a lot faster. This would add a risk/reward factor. Do you want to play safe and pass around the outside, or risk a potential interception and play close to the net? For defense it could also be improved. I do think defenders losing energy with high pressure is a good thing, but there isn’t much to actually help you prevent it from happening. To fix this, first they could start off with fixing poke checks and stuck lifts. Maybe poke checks and stick lifts are more effective in the defensive zone? Also, I think the defensive team should actually get a boost when the opposing team enters your zone. Then after pressure builds, that boost turns into a disadvantage. This would make it easier to prevent the opposing team from building pressure without removing the effect of the system. So it’s a lot easier to stop the opposing team, but if you don’t, then the pressure increases. Remember, this would work off of a fixed checking system that would make it easier to actually take the puck away. I like the new goalie system, but I think goalies should only start flopping when there is either a near impossible save to be made, or pressure is almost at maximum.

I like the pressure system but it needs to be a little fixed

Ea nhl needs a competitor. Even if its an NCAA hockey game

It's ok. I like the effort for change. It's just making what should always of been there more noticeable and up front on display. It does need tweaking. Too easy to get pressure. No need to buff offensive abilities. And a frozen puck and line change by defense should end it. And the dump puck R1 needs to work like 23. They nerfed that too much

If you ask me everything they have done with NHL24 is to cancel the current skill gap as much as they can. The game is going to favor the n00bs that want a game of chance. They want to enter the zone and take random low percentage shots and be rewarded for it. And EA is trying it's hardest (And have been for years) to accommodate the Average player. The player that posts online that he had 35 shots and only 1 goal. Meanwhile the player that beat him knows what shots work.. This is the player they are catering towards.