A nice feature which seems to be in a few of EA's games this year, is the "Bullet Time" mode. This happens when the player with the puck gets a breakaway. The camera switches behind the goalie with the player approaching in slow motion and the pad pulsating to the sound of a heartbeat. Also, not forgetting another feature added which was missing from Madden 2003 is the "accelerated time" mode which is good if you like to keep an eye on the stats after each game.

Graphically, NHL looks excellent in most cases and poor in some. New animations have been added, most notably with the goalie who no longer looks like a cardboard cut out moving from side to side. Instead he can now dive for the puck in a realistic manner. Some of the players also look like their real life counterparts, however, most of them just look like the guy standing next to them. Although this doesn't detract from the gameplay, it does look out of place when the players are approaching the rink. The fighting animations are executed badly and looks like the players arms are connected with a stick and move in a very rigid motion with practically no body movement at all.

Another point that should be mentioned is the slowdown. Occasionally when all the players are at one end of the rink the game slows down for a few seconds, certainly not something expected in a sports game. Changing between 50hz and 60hz did not remove the slowdown. However, this only seems to appear when a wide view is selected in the camera options, which is a shame as with that view chosen it is easier to see the location of your team mates and the opposing team. The crowd is still represented in a 2D fashion during the game apart from in the opening and closing sequences of the game. Minor touches include breaking glass, brand names on the sticks, multiple shadows from the overhead spotlights and believable reflections off the rink itself, except there are never any skating trails left on the ice like other hockey games.

Dolby Digital is supported in the sound department, which really comes into its own when choosing "on the ice" from the sound options. It thankfully hides the commentary which not only repeats itself quite frequently, but is also corny and even makes fun of the script writers in game. The game is also interrupted by snippets of "EA Sports Trax" which are current songs from the charts including "Queens of the Stone Age". It wouldn't be so bad if they were used sparingly, however they seem to play during most of the game such as face offs and replays with annoying pop up windows which can cover the lower corner of the playing field.