What I don't understand is that after the lockout the NHL decided to crack down on hooking and other similar type penalties a lot more. There was definitely a learning curve for the players, but as time went on they caught on and started to play the game differently.
Why not do the same with the slashing and other stick work? Obviously the players feel that the refs won't do anything about it and therefore they retaliate. Had there been a quick whistle there and a penalty called on Raffl, Malkin more than likely wouldn't have done anything.
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