To be fair though, the PS3 is VERY RAM limited. And that probably affects multi-platform games to a fair degree too (you don't want different specs for different consoles; very hard to manage). Thats one area that should improve somewhat next gen.
Anyway, I actually like if they focused on the hitting engine. In 13, you can either hit, or you can't. And lets face it, its VERY hard to do in the open ice. If they get it right, its a huge change in gameplay by itself.