First the disclaimer. This may be a totally crazy idea, and I'm not even sure it's possible (I guess depending on how the 2D engine is coded).
That said, the way the 2D engine works right now, the player really has little idea (other than checking the boxscore or perhaps witnessing a penalty parade), if he's involved in a physical game or not.
So the thought is, what if there was a way to improve immersion by giving the player a visual cue whenever a big hit took place?
Perhaps a small 'impact graphic', or if that's too tricky to plot real-time coordinates, maybe just a brief flash in a limited area (like the rink border? - not full screen), so as to still be somewhat subtle and not blow the player away.
If possible, I think it would increase the level of excitement and/or sense of challenge if the player felt as though he was crushing the opposition or simply being run out of the rink. Few things fuel the emotions more than a momentum swinging hit, and it would be wonderful if a little bit of that magic could be transplanted to FHM.
Just a thought... Feel free to comment, modify and/or suggest something better. Even if you think it's a bad idea, please tell me why, as there's probably aspects to this I haven't thought about or realized. Who knows, if it makes sense, I might end up agreeing with you.
