We all can tell that the game has gotten more defensive since old gen. I was curious on the difference in goal scoring between prior games using LG stats. Here's some numbers on average goal scoring, PP% and power play goals throughout the games history. This only goes back to NHL 13 since VHL was the main site to play on for 09-13 and I don't believe those stats are available. Some seasons were more competitive than others. Season 17 is when the merger occurred between LG and the VHL and the player base completely shifted to here. I included an NHL 08 season as well just to see the difference. That season was 3v3 using NHL rosters. This is average goals per game per team. Obviously NHL 18 is the major outlier considering how arcadey and offense oriented the game was. There really isn't a noticeable difference in goal scoring between old gen and current gen until NHL 18. NHL 13 had the lowest GPG numbers but if 19 continues at the current pace this will be the lowest scoring game. As some people remember 13 was the year of the goal line goalies. We only have a weeks worth of games for 19 so clearly the 2.32 gpg could increase, but I'm thinking it'll stay around that number.
@Cheez Whizzzzz 1.) Guys have been playing 6s for almost 6 years now, even the newer guys for 2-3yrs, for the most part we all know almost every play or pass/shot guys are looking for 2.) Theres a ton of good Goalies now, Starting Gs use to go for 3M-6.75M(highest we ever had), now the highest paid in the league is 2.25M 3.) There are 6s and Goalies youtube videos out there showing people how to play and helping develop players 4.) The 6s community has grown tremendously, almost 3,000 and on top of that adding another league on a different console and many of them playing on both sides 5.) Game has slowed down since old gen as well as went more sim to arcade, which allows for less individual ability and more collective team chemistry (which im assuming is your point of this post)
On a side note the thing I find interesting is how GPG drops for every season in the yearly cycles except for NHL 18's Summer Season. Goal line goalies were boring. And honestly in NHL 19 you still don't have to move as much as one really should. Would be interesting if we could compile videos of games from each game title and see how gameplay progressively changed both in pace and meta made by the players.
@SweeT 9 LoU 84 1) agree on this 2-3) Agree on that as well. I think the position has gotten easier though and with a bunch of other factors including the collapse and trap style, its simple to play G 4) if it is growing you'd expect a wider range of skill levels 5) 100%. The same people are playing these games throughout these seasons. Looking at NHL 17 v NHL 19 that's 1.4 less goals scored per game. There's no difference between 14 and 17, a 4 year game difference with 3-4 years of learning the game and tendencies. This was mostly just to provide the numbers to backup the claims. All of this was obvious.
5.) NHL 17 was the biggest tip and turd fest of any game ever BUT goalies sucked they let it tips and turds and giant rebounds At too high of a rate. Teams were shooting more than ever which kept sv% decent and shots faced high but that was by far the worst game for goalies and offensive styles. 19 is heading down that road which is scary but luckily a lot has been fixed with the Gs so not too many go in which is why we are seeing such insane SV% but that's better than a lot of them going in, however it's becoming boring bc thats what most offenses seem tailored around since the post release tuners and patch. 17* had very good stick curling though and The piss wrap which allowed for some more offensive things to occurr
@Cheez Whizzzzz Pivot Table competition, me and you. 1 v 1 me bro In all seriousness, this is an interesting breakout. There's a lot of variables that go into this data, some has been pointed out already such as player skill steadily increasing each year, better Goalies, etc. If we're just looking at the numbers, I think it makes sense how GPG has decreased almost 25% since NHL 14, with that change happening primarily on the next gen of consoles. From a qualitative perspective, it makes sense that NHL 13's GPG was lower than other 360/PS3 titles due to Goal Line Goalies, and NHL 19 is probably the lowest scoring NHL that the series has ever seen due to defense/goaltending being stronger than ever. From a quantitative perspective, I find the decreasing PP success percentage interesting. I think this data signifies the shift in style that EA has emphasized on this generation, away from great passing and One T's to more of a realistic, greasy style. Back on old gen, I felt like most goals resulted from great teamwork and passing. Since the transition to XB1 and PS4, goal scoring shifted towards more balance between passing/One Ts and pucks in dirty areas/turds/tips. Whether it's a healthy shift for the game or not is a hot debate, but I definitely think the data makes sense for this. Edit: This was especially true with the strength of poke checks in NHL 18 and Hitting/defense as a whole in NHL 19, as well as goaltending improvements. NHL 18 was the first game on next gen where goalies could actually somewhat defend against wraparounds.
“Hey guys I have scientific data on why im washed up now” - Guy who really likes cheese and must be included in his gt
This year’s game is about complete bullshit goals and things lining up for the perfect storm. Sure, you’ll pound the shit teams in random search games, but if two evenly matched teams go at it there is far too much randomness that determines the winner. Perfect one timers miss wide or have 50% power. The goalie is swimming on the other side, but can make miraculous glove saves. Stack 5 at the blueline and bump anyone who tries to do something. Why is there no speed to a hockey game? If a dman stood still at the blueline he would be torched in almost every level of play. If my team is outplayed and I lose, I will give the other team credit, but this isn’t the state 6v6 should be in after 10+ years to build and improve the game mode.
I feel like it's because people that complain the game isnt real enough. They need to realize that realism is what makes a game less fun. It's a video game and not real life.
I've been playing net since S26 (so NHL 17) and I can say that this is the first build of the game where the goalie does what I tell it to 90% of the time. I'm really only getting beat on breakaways and deflections which I can respect. I think wraps might be slightly under-powered. They were overpowered (backhand speedwraps and piss wraps) but I dont even see skaters attempting them much anymore... I think that's contributing to the lower GPG a little bit.
