Commentary is smartly provided by Hughson and Clement, it's out of synch with the action only occasionally and this time out they actually seem less repetitive. Sure they spout the same stories over and over during a season, but their style is unobtrusive enough that it doesn't grate like that of High Heat baseball or the phone-it-in style of John Madden and his undead partner on the NFL game. Hits, slapshots and skating have been toned down significantly; they sound less like gunshots and more like, well, hits, skating and slapshots this time out. The crowd is fantastic and often indicates which team is on a streak better than the momentum meter. The only thing missing from the game is more chatter from the players themselves during the game. We see their lips move, but they don't talk much even in celebration.

NHL 2001 isn't perfect; it ships with a bug that allows the AI to float the puck into the net from as far away as the centerline, which is ludicrous. It's rare, but the quickly released patch doesn't seem to fix it enough. It would also be really nice if the sliders were numerically rated. That way dogged experimenters could easily recommend settings for other players, rather than guesstimating the number. They also really need to just do away with the stupid fight interface. Show me a canned realistic fight (admirably, they do show players getting annoyed with each other throughout the game) or eliminate the feature entirely. No more silly button mashing, please.