Okay, so which hockey game is better? I say neither and here is why...
Enter 07. This game definately does a lot of good things right, the controls are very awesome and give you a ton of ways to score. The first couple of games you play if you score at all will most likely be slop goals, but as you progress you can pull off some really sweet moves. The face offs are one area that could be worked on a little bit better.
As for the graphics, they are stunning to say the least visually everything looks great except for one thing. The animations can be a little "jerky" especially when you switch players. It's not enough to ruin the game for me, it just bothered me a little bit at first but now I'm acclimamted to it.
Sound I really like, the sound when you hit the bar, the crowd noises, and even the soundtrack is a lot better than most.
Like I said, if you like more of a hockey sim then this game is for you. If you want to spend some time perfecting controls and becoming freakishly good then this game is for you. But if you want to just have a couple pick up games with friends that come over or online and don't mind scoring 10+ goals a game then 2K is for you. I'm very unbiased, I also plan on getting 2K hockey when the price drops down a bit because I too sometimes like arcade style hockey and their party mode is always a blast.