as the saying goes, even a blind squirrel gets a nut now and then. You posted that the Hens got called once for diving. Even you can admit we see it far more often than that, and we only see them about 10 times a season, counting the playoffs. That's out of an 82 game season, and, when you go to YouTube and search Hens diving, very little of the footage is from Caps games. So at best you are pointing out that the Hens get called on their actions about what, %5 of the time?
I'm sorry, what was your point?
The point is to take the pressure off the refs. It isn't really a "referee" issue. It's a Pittsburgh Penguin issue. The default diving mindset they have is not only reckless, childish, and petty, it can be dangerous. I feel like to me it's the type of thing that and the whining their coaching staff and players are allowed to get away with that should be brought up at GM meetings and the like. Harsher rules for that stuff, more suspensions for diving, more focus on the integrity of the game.
Either that or allow the enforcer to come back and let us make their boys pay for every dive.
For the record when I say it's not a referee issue I'm not referring to shitty calls. That is an issue, but that happens every series regardless. We had games where the calls weren't great in Columbus and other times where it was fine. The refs aren't great on the whole in the NHL, but it gets magnified and amplified in every single series the Pens play. There just isn't consistency when it comes to some of their tactics, because a lot of them aren't your typical tactics of a cheap team. They play the victim card more than any other team. And while I agree it's bullshit, I'd rather the practical focus get put on that instead of "oh the ref didn't catch that, the refs are clearly getting paid by the Pens." Which is just a silly statement to make. That isn't true. The pens are just trash bags who have tainted the integrity of the penalty by diving and whining. That is true.
