The Florida Panthers only need one win against the Edmonton Oilers to lift the Stanley Cup for the very first time.
But since taking a 3-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, they’ve lost two straight games, and although they played better on Tuesday than they did in Game 3, where they suffered a blowout 8-1 loss, the pressure is starting to build.
Superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk scored his first goal of the series on Tuesday, but he also found himself at the center of controversy in the Oilers’ 5-3 win at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
Midway through the third period, at the 13:41 mark, Tkachu and the Oilers’ Dylan Holloway were involved in an incident that led to strong reactions from fans on social media.
The Oilers held a 4-3 lead in the game at the moment as Tkachuk skated with the puck in the neutral zone.
Tkachuk made contact with Holloway’s stick and fell down to the ice.
Holloway was handed a two-minute minor penalty for hooking, but as Tkachuk’s fall seemed a little too dramatic, the Panthers’ player was sent to the penalty box for embellishment.
It’s not often we see referees who dare make embellishment calls in a deciding moment like the Stanley Cup Finals, and if Tkachuk hadn’t been called for it, the Panthers would’ve gotten a golden opportunity to tie the game up in the final period of the game.
On social media, fans gave the referees a lot of praise for their bold decision to call Tkachuk for embellishment.
”Everyone whines about the refs but you have to admit it takes balls to call this in the SCF. It was clear as day on replay, but still a good call,” one said.
”I hate how much teams chase powerplays. Even my own team will sell calls so hard. Credit to the ref for actually calling this, especially in the playoffs,” another said.
”Unironically the refs are incredible this finals. They are barely missing anything,” a third added.
”I’m OK with it. Takes a lot of guts to make that call there but I think it’s the right one,” a fourth added.
