Hard goalies are where it's at, especially for a playoff rom, since playoffs are where goalies typically step it up.
As for 'elite' players being better, I don't know, I think they are. Smyth and Iginla in my Flames/Oilers series seem a lot more potent than the others on the ice. It's mostly just subtle things tho, like being able to take a check and shot accuracy, but yeah. Maybe it's just me. But I like the NHL2006b gameplay more than the original I think.