[StormJH1]

Fair point on the goalie animations...every goalie in the game plays like they're Marc-Andre Fleury, which kinda impedes your ability to suspend disbelief. But even though it looks a little unrealistic, I think the goaltending is better this year because goalies actually behave like they're on ice this year. In other words, if said goalie lunges across the crease, and the puck gets sent back to where it came from, the goalie will actually have to deal with momentum, so they'll have difficulty getting back. Last year, it was pretty easy to dominate shot totals, but '08 wasn't "easy" per se b/c shots missed the net all the time and goalies were superhuman. '09 has a better balance--goalies are more human, but the defense has been given more tools and ways to stop you, other than simply putting you on your butt.