NHL 09 doesn't fail to deliver. When you first start a game you immediately notice the difference. The motion of the game, players movements, the little things. I haven't spent much time playing the CPU because to be quite honest this game truly shines in online play. OTP on Xbox Live and the experience is very enjoyable, you truly need to understand the word TEAMWORK in order to win. This game is not a one man show anymore. There is no "I" in team. I get geeked up each time I join in on a game because it's extremely rewarding to win in online team play more than any other previous NHL games. Yes there are a few setbacks:

Penalties. It gets very tiring that every penalty called is either interference, tripping, or a cross-check. Also, there are still some glitch goals that people will attempt in order to bail themselves out of a game online whether it be 1v1 ranked game or online team play. There are a lot of quality players playing online who will fight to the bitter end. Just last night I played a full 6v6 game and my team won 7-2. NOBODY LEFT THE GAME! That's how fun NHL 09 is!