I'd like to add some drivel to the PP discussion if I may...
Puck possession drives some of this. Since RPI is bad at face-offs, we spend a larger percentage of time trying to get the puck rather than trying to keep it. As we all know, players with the puck draw penalties and players without it tend to commit them. So there's some ammo for your face-off fixation Doc.
Secondly, reputation starts to come into play. Living in Boston, I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to be a Bruins fan and see the level of non-calls that we get vs. the opponents. Yes, I realize I'm a fan and there are likely others out there who will disagree with me (especially if you are a Canadian's fan), but I like to think I can be pretty sober in my analysis of replays. Part of this is embellishment - in both a positive and negative way. Brad Marchand has developed a rep for being a rat and an embellisher. Embellishing is really frowned upon by Boston management - which has at times put Brad at odds with Bruins management in the past. He has cleaned up that part of his game somewhat - but it's too late. He has the rep across the league and it will not be easy to shake it (if ever). As a result, he needs to get absolutely mugged in order to get a call. And of course his rat reputation remains. The net effect is maddening. There have been a number of occasions this year where Marchand got a penalty for something and later had the exact same thing happen to him at the other end... with no call. Drives Julien crazy... makes him complain... which makes the refs think he rides them too much.. making them they are less likely to call things in the future.
Lucic falls into this same category but only in that he has a rep for playing rough (not diving). He fights through things that other forwards in the league don't so doesn't draw penalties. When he hits someone and it is borderline, refs rarely look the other way.
Take a look at the Bruins PP stats and you'll see a case similar to RPI. They just don't get calls. In Boston's case, since they win face offs and control the puck, it's more likely reputation that is behind some of it. And foot speed might play into it as well. For RPI, it's probably a lack of puck possession and maybe reputation. All it takes are a couple of meat heads (Wood and Devito) and a coach that the refs don't like (this is speculation of course). And I'll throw foot speed in there for RPI too - not on O but on D. The good thing about our D is that they are big. The bad thing about them is that they are big. Big brings strength - but not always speed. The game is all about speed these days.
