Matthew Tkachuk dives for a penalty, and referees make him pay later in game
Florida Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk showed up the referees on an embellished elbow by Evan Bouchard which led to a soft slashing call on him at the beginning of the 2nd period.
The initial call happened in the dying seconds of the first period when Evan Bouchard skated close to Tkachuk and pushed his glove near his face. Tkachuk sold the roughing call in which the referees believed him but after the replay was shown it appeared that it was embellished.
The referees then showed Tkachuk who was in control of this game as he received a very soft slash call in the opening minute of the second period against Connor Brown. It's clear that the referees have no desire to be shown up by any player and teams were warned prior to the beginning of each series that they would be looking for these plays.
There was no video available of the penalty, but it really seemed like a make-up call for Tkachuk's dive moments before. It's clear that the message was sent and it remains to be seen on whether Tkachuk will listen.
Oilers fans react to Matthew Tkachuk taking a dive and referees getting him back with soft call
Knowing him well from the Battle of Alberta, many Oilers fans weren't happy with Tkachuk's antics last night.
The series' physicality really picked up last night and Edmonton was there in the fight - but Florida is making the Oilers get away from their game. The offence is completely bogged down with Florida's checking, and in reality they're taking many more penalties than are being called. The Oilers need to push through and get back to playing their game, and unleash the offence.
| POLL | ||
Did Matthew Tkachuk embelish Evan Bouchard's roughing at the end of the 1st period? | ||
| Yes | 580 | 86.1 % |
| No | 94 | 13.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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