Not a single person is ignoring that. But it has absolutely nothing to do with the play. So if a person punches you in the back of the head you are allowed to take a baseball bat swing to their head. I guess the Brashear suspension was too rough then.
Plenty of people are, actually.
Without getting into a legal debate, a punch to the head is definitely not something to just brush off and ignore. People have gotten off via self-defense where they’ve been punched or hit in the head and used a weapon (sometimes lethally) in retaliation.
But that’s real life, it’s not hockey.
The punch to the head absolutely is a part of this play - it’s what seems to drive Malkin to take that action. It adds context. If Malkin just came over out of nowhere and swung his stick at Raffl’s head, that’s a lot different than getting punched in the head and letting your stick swing while pushing him away.