"Refs get dumber and dumber": NHL fans furious as Matthew Tkachuk's embellishment penalty follows Brett Pesce tripping call on the same play

Hockey fans were furious after a controversial call involving Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk on Tuesday night.

During the Panthers' 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, Matthew Tkachuk was tripped by Devils defenseman Brett Pesce in the offensive zone. However, the refs called embellishment on Tkachuk to offset the tripping penalty, leaving both teams at even strength.

On the play, it appeared Matthew Tkachuk was clearly tripped by Pesce's stick. But the refs felt Tkachuk exaggerated the fall. Fans were outraged, taking to social media to share their opinion on the referee’s call.

User @hagop_z was disappointed with the declining quality of the officials and tweeted:

"With every passing game these refs get dumber and dumber. Dropping a puck for a face off became an issue during the NYR v WPG game."

@theavreybrooks was rather confused with the call. They said:

"I will never understand the tripping and embellishment call. It’s either not a trip that was embellished or just a trip. I hate that call."

Here are some fan reactions to Matthew Tkachuk's embellishment penalty:

"Oh well had to get ref pucked at some point this season. Better now than the playoffs," @theos45 wrote.

"It’s the dumbest penalty in the @NHL. It’s either tripping or embellishment. It can’t be both," @HardleyKurt wrote.

"I again cannot express how much I despise this rule..call 1 or the other..penalty OR embellishment..its so counterintuitive that it's both. So ridiculous..." @FrankJForte wrote.

"What a jerkoff. Everyone looks like they're embellishing when they get tripped and fall on their face. They need to get rid of that the offender gets away *unpenalized*," wrote @batmanwalksthe.

This incident occurred in the third period 14:28.

Paul Cotter, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Ondrej Palat scored for the Devils. Sam Reinhart scored for the Panthers.

Jacob Markstrom saved 34 shots. Spence Knight saved 20 shots in the loss.

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Matthew Tkachuk and Panthers lose 4-1 to the Devils

NHL: New Jersey Devils at Florida Panthers - Source: Imagn

The Devils got on the board first with a goal from Jack Hughes, who sniped home a beautiful backhand pass from Jesper Bratt 8:30 into the opening period.

The Panthers were able to tie things up early in the second when Sam Reinhart tipped in a point shot from Uvis Balinskis on the power play at 8:41. However, New Jersey regained the lead late in the second period as Timo Meier scored with a blocker-side rocket to make it 2-1.

The Devils extended their lead to 3-1 midway through the third period courtesy of a goal from Paul Cotter. Florida was unable to mount a comeback and Ondrej Palat sealed the win for New Jersey with an empty-netter in the final minute to make the final score 4-1.

The two teams will face off again on Thursday night in Florida.