NHL 14's Thrill of the Big Hit

Who doesn't like a good clean body check? Whether you subscribe to the Don Cherry school of hockey or spend as much time watching the game as you do on the various analytics sites, a good clean check gets a rise out of almost everyone.

One of my personal favourite hits is by Marc-Andre Bergeron on Brenden Morrow back in game 6 of the first round in the 2003 playoffs. Morrow cut across the middle inside the blue line and Bergeron was waiting:

Hitting has always been a part of the core of the EA Sports NHL series. For the longest time, that was the way you got the puck back. With the advent of things like the poke check and stick lift in recent iterations, hitting became less of a necessity and more of the tool it is in regular hockey. There are players who still try and hit all the time, but the really good players use a combination of everything. Nothing is worse than worrying about the guy who is angling to get a good position to lift your stick, only to realize he's funneled you towards the big defenseman on his team. Before you know it, he's switched players and you are caught with a bone crushing hit.

The new hitting engine in NHL 14 has be redesigned to factor in size, speed and the angle of the 2 players in a collision. It's a much more realistic engine that changes the dynamic of how you play with and without the puck. And if you want to get into a hit fest, there's always NHL 94's anniversary mode.

What's your favourite NHL hit? Are you a gamer who plays the NHL series? If so are you a hit spammer or do you use everything to get the puck from your opponent?