"One of the worst calls" "Can't jump in the air for the hit": Fans divided over Elias Pettersson's charging penalty for hit on Warren Foegele

Elias Pettersson was called for a two-minute charging penalty against Warren Foegele at 10:02 in the second period, and fans had conflicting opinions. After releasing the puck, Pettersson jumped and collided with a rushing Foegele, who fell to the ice.

According to Rule 42 of the NHL Rulebook, a charging penalty can be assessed as a minor or major penalty and shall be imposed on a player who skates, jumps into or charges an opponent in any manner. After Elias Pettersson's penalty call, Vancouver Canucks fans at the Rogers Arena reportedly threw trash onto the ice in retaliation to the officials' call.

Hockey fans on social media had divided reactions to Elias Pettersson's charging penalty call. Some thought it was unfair, while others stood with the on-ice referees' calls backed by the official NHL ruling.

"One of the worst calls I've witnessed" @CurrentPulseHQ.

"That legit might be the worst calls in the history of the NHL playoffs." GOHLSim wrote.

"All he did was brace for the hit" @JJHoliday79 wrote.

Some fans, meanwhile, agreed with the call on the ice.

"You cannot leave your feet. Period" @skerrd22 wrote.

"He left his feet on a reverse hit. This isn't hard to understand. You can't leave your feet when you hit." @StevenGWalton wrote.

"Can't jump in the air for the hit" @ColoradoFonDew wrote.

ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro slammed the officiating in Game 6 of Canucks-Oilers and said:

"This is a terribly officiated game. Both teams must be shaking their heads. Standing still, Pettersson gets called for charging. I believe you have to be moving to get called for charging."

According to The Athletic's Harman Dayal, Pettersson was not given an explanation from the referees about his charging penalty.

Elias Pettersson addressed getting called out by Rick Tocchet after Game 4

After Canucks Game 4 loss, Rick Tocchet called out "five or six" Canucks players for being "passengers" and reviewed Elias Pettersson's contributions across the series, and said:

"He needs to get going. I don't know what else to say."

Pettersson attended a press conference the next day where he was asked about Rick Tocchet's comments after Game 4:

"I think he sends a message to the group that we all need to be better. Honestly, I know I can be better, I'm trying out there. It's not going the best way right now, I'm trying and I wanna win."

Before Game 5, Elias Pettersson was centering a line with Sam Lafferty and Ilya Mikheyev. Rick Tocchet decided to make a change during practice ahead of Game 5 and played Pettersson as the right winger on the first line alongside Elias Lindholm and Nils Hoglanders.

Addressing a possible lack of support in his line, he said:

"Yeah. maybe it could (be). But also, at the end of the day, I can only focus on what I do.I wanna be better, I wanna be the difference maker. Hasn't (been) going the way I want it to be but at the end of the day, I can't dwell on it too much."