My love of soccer, and in particular my Mighty Reds of Liverpool, baseball and (American) football have been well documented in this space over many months.  But I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out how much I have been enjoying the incredible drama of the NHL playoffs.

As if last night’s Game 7 between the Penguins and Capitals, which didn’t turn out the way Ovechkin and Co. and the home fans had hoped, wasn’t enough, tonight there are two more Game 7s, including one involving the Boston Bruins, who provided me with my introduction to live hockey, back in the “Old” Boston Garden in 1992.

You don’t have to be a hockey fan to love the playoffs and you don’t have to be a hockey fan to love what we’ve done with our NHL franchise the past few years.  It’s been obvious to me since the very first meeting I had with our NHL development team that this is a group that truly eats, sleeps and breaths hockey and that they set the gold standard for game quality.  NHL has won 19 sports game of the year awards the past two years and, as we approach E3 and our first looks of NHL 10, I’m confident that this is a product that’s going to be in the running yet again this year for more well-earned accolades.

Today we announce the first product details for NHL 10.  And for everyone that has been asking when we’re going to finally add fighting (in a meaningful way) to the game, I think you’ll be happy.  The team has finally achieved and delivered first-person fighting in NHL 10 as part of a renewed emphasis on tough, physical, playoff hockey, much like you are seeing during these NHL playoffs.

A screen shot is worth a thousand words and here’s one from NHL 10 showcasing new first-person fighting.