The Sharks board comments are pretty ridiculous, but I have to admit the Knights got away with quite a few high sticks before getting caught on one that could have ruined the night in the third as it turned into a goal. Some strange no calls too there, but saying the refs are intentionally doing it loses one's credibility.
I think the fanbase is generally nothing like that, its just frustration with the state of the team and management. This was inevitable though, winning all those years brought a Red Wings like dilemma where not enough young talent could come in. Plus a GM that makes maddening decisions at times to rely on veterans at all costs and a coach who is known as a veterans coach. To move forward they will have to probably make wholesale changes, but hard to do when the team is still making the playoffs and still has some really good talent at the top. Problem is after the top 6-7 players on the team its a lot of mediocre players. Other than hitting on some first round picks, they have a lot of guys of Carpenter's level getting NHL minutes.