I am rating the game toughly with a 6/10. I only have 15 hours with the game. Maybe if I spent more time with it and I improved in the game it could move up to a 7/10 rating. Seeing as I'm acquainted with the product no later learned improvement could move the game past a 7 for me.
On Semi-pro difficulty I can often score 6-8 goals while my opponent scores 4. On Pro difficulty (what I play on) the CPU often scores 6-8 goals while I score 4. In 39 games, the CPU has had around 7 high scoring games against me. In the real life NHL you have opponents score 6 or more goals against you 6 times in the whole season. There are sliders to increase goalie skills and other things, but I am the type of person that likes the game set-up for themselves when selecting a difficulty. When you exit an unfinished game, the game sims the end of the game. In franchise mode anyway, I have only played franchise. I have simmed far too many games for my liking where I was 3 goals down in the first or second period and just decided to quit.
Another thing that lowers the game score for me is the long load times. Before the game/menu starts there is a delay, then when you load up the franchise there is another load time. They are not that long but long enough to be annoying.
If you have played a previous good Electronic Arts hockey game, the gameplay in NHL 17 is pretty similar. The camera and gameplay are similar to past good EA NHL games. Sticks break at a real life pace, around twice each game. I haven't seen a slapshot or heavy hit break the glass yet so I do not think that is possible. The pre-game announcers, real life people, are pretty boring, but seeing the goalies pre-game with their stats for the season may get you psyched for the game. Both my goalies, by the way, have a Goals Against Average of 4.00 or more.
I set the periods to 10 minutes in the setting. Which seems like a good fit. The time still says 20 minutes but it counts down twice as fast. The only thing that suffers is the powerplay which is over too quickly. You also have to mess with the team strategies to try and keep the score down. This is effective sometimes. I found a decent setting.
Faceoffs are pretty neat, but you have to learn how to take them. Go to www.ea.com, NHL 17, and Tips and Tricks there is a video on how to take faceoffs. You also want to watch the other videos or read the text there to learn when to lift a stick and tie people up. Learn one thing at a time is my advice.
Overall, I'm glad IGN gave the game a 8.4/10 because the high score coaxed me into buying the game. The game can be addictive, but I also find myself slightly bored at times, especially when I go 2 down. When rating the game toughly I can not give it over a six, due to the high amount of goals and medium load times. I have not covered everything, there is player trading (which is good) and other game modes. I only play Franchise mode.