Interesting piece on NHL officiating:
The NHL Has An Officiating Problem | The Oilers Rig
These numbers do make sense IMO. Only 17% of real infractions are called. Only 28% of blatant ones are called by this guys numbers.
In reality, refs can make games into whatever they want. If they want to make a call, there will always be something available to them. If they don't want to call something on a team, the precedent has been long set that they can ignore whatever they feel like ignoring. Fans almost expect it, even though we boo and hiss.
In the end though, most games still end up very close in calls, 1-2 difference usually, rarely more, in the name of parity. Teams that are near the top in PP opportunities usually end up near the top in times shorthanded too, because the refs always feel they need to keep things even.
That said, I think we have definitely been an outlier this year. It's ridiculous how little calls we draw. It's a historically low level. I don't think our org has been shining the light on this that they should. We haven't said a word since Carlyle put it out there last playoffs that McDavid and the Oilers were getting special treatment.