Fan outrage exploded on social media following Matthew Tkachuk’s embellishment call during the Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes Game 4 clash on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
The play took place during the second period, following a hooking penalty by the Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal.
Here’s a look at the incident:
While Staal got the gate for hooking, Matthew Tkachuk received an embellishment call for his antics as he hit the ice.
But fans weren’t convinced that was the right call. Here’s a look at what these fans had to say:
“NHL refs have to be some of the dumbest people on the planet,” one fan chimed in.
“Atrocious,” this fan weighed in.
“Horrendous embellishment call, HORRENDOUS,” another fan opined.
Meanwhile, other fans took to X to give the officials the benefit of the doubt in this call. Let’s look at their comments:
“That isn’t embellishing but he’s been flopping a lot. I don’t like the makeup call tho,” a fan wrote.
“If that wasn’t the Panthers and Tkachuk, it wouldn’t have been called LOL,” this fan posted.
“Tkachuk has embellished for sure but that probably was one of the weaker ones,” another fan remarked.
Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers are looking to finish off the series against the Hurricanes and return to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive postseason.
Nestor is an NHL and MLB writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience. Growing up in Toronto, he became an avid Maple Leafs and Blue Jays fan, but also admires the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Dodgers for their dominance in the 80s. Holding an Economics and Education major, Nestor’s passion for writing and sporting events led him to take up reporting about the sport professionally.
Nestor credits the Leafs’ playoff runs in the early ’90s as having a lasting impact on him. His favorite players are Doug Gilmour and Mike Bossy, as he feels they were tough, talented leaders, while Pat Burns is his favorite coach of all time for always preaching a fast-paced game.
Growing up in Canada, it was natural for Nestor to become interested in ice hockey and he played Minor Hockey as a teenager, which has given him a unique perspective on the sport. Nestor has mastered the art of how to best present facts and he also has a knack for knowing which sources can be trusted, and which can’t for stories.
When he is not writing about Canada’s national passion, Nestor enjoys running and hiking.