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Penalties pile up as 'old habits die hard'
The NHL’s crackdown on slashing isn’t even a week old, but the league’s director of officiating believes the tougher approach is already having the desired effect.
“It’s early, but so far there’s a real buy-in,” Stephen Walkom said over the phone Thursday morning. “Even the players on the competition committee were concerned about this area.
“I think (the referees are) applying the standard we want them to apply, relative to the hacking and whacking around the hands. And I’m already seeing player conformance and a lot of players haven’t even played two games yet.