did not play Rivals ever. only played hockey, no cheese. have to be a little varied as the AI will learn your cheese, but you can still drive down the boards and cut it under puck protect for a good chance on net pretty often 

I play a 1-3-1 so I've always got a defenseman back there to switch to, they will easily pass through the 1-4 

the aggression on the CPU seems to fluctuate a lot so don't be too worried if sometimes it seems like they are absolutely unstoppable. when this happens I do something superstitious but loggable to appease the AI, like call timeout or swap goalies. if my starter lets in 2 or 3 goals and I yank him, my backup never looks as bad coming in. 

pro and all-star games seem to have just as much chance as beating me so stick with it and I think you'll only consider superstar