to answer the part in
bold - yes , that's really where I was probably coming from with my OP ... re: the quote of " is it simply down to game coding "
I was curious to see what happens with auto-shot aim following on from the thread Al_Tito13 posted about 'puck control & shot accuracy' that we both posted in where most people would seem to agree that a more realistic and more loose puck feel (certainly in regards passing) happens when the puck control slider is set to 0 - however , is this maybe also affecting shot accuracy as quite a few people seem to quote that they're not seeing the goal variety they expect in the slot area.
Using manual shot aim with puck control at 0 and shot accuracy most likely set back from the default of 3 (as most peoples sliders seem to have it) - versus - using auto shot aim with puck control at 0 and shot accuracy at default 3 was the tangent I was heading towards ... is the goal variety perhaps better ? - not had chance to test anything out yet myself.
Got plenty of time on my hands this afternoon so will go and try a few things out.