Exactly.
Not only do the rulesw get bent in how they are enforced, but the rules change once the playoffs commence. Then you start having officiating that is derived from "not wanting to influence teh outcome of the game." Lax officiating can influence game results just as much as porrous and uneven penalty calling.
The Brashear penalty should have just been flat out waved off when they didn't know who to blame. Any other league would have figured that much out but the officials thought "Well, something happened... might as well call someone..."
It's a joke.
How can you bring in new fans if the rule standards change so broadly from month to month in this league? What is called in October will not be called in May. What a playoff watcher sees in the Stanley Cup Finals is ever the same rule enforcement as in December during the season.
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