[FlamesAddiction]

I have noticed that when and what they call a penalty often depends on the flow of the game. I don't know if it is how they are trained or if they are doing it subconsciously. Powerplays seem to be often be a reward rather than penalties being a punishment.

If a team is pinned in their own zone but hanging in there, the refs will call a weak penalty on the defending team as a reward to the more dominant team. If the game is flowing back and forth quickly, they let everything go. If both teams are having trouble gaining the zone, the whistles come back out. It has been that way for a long time, so I am thinking it might be league direction.