"What a crybaby"- NHL fans react to Brady Tkachuk taking exception to Nico Hischier’s empty netter following final buzzer

The Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils faced off on Saturday night in a thrilling game that ended with a controversial empty net goal by Nico Hischier.

With the Devils leading 4-3, Hischier carried the puck into the Senators' empty net just after the buzzer sounded, sparking a heated reaction from Senators' Brady Tkachuk.

Tkachuk was upset by Hischier's decision to pad his stats with a meaningless goal and immediately charged at the Devils player, attempting to instigate a fight. NHL fans wasted no time sharing their opinions on the empty net controversy.

One fan bluntly commented "What a crybaby! Whaaaaa Whaaaaa Whaaaaaaaa LOL!!" in reference to Tkachuk's reaction.

Officials quickly intervened, trying to separate the two players before the situation escalated further. However, Tkachuk managed to break free and drop his gloves, setting his sights on Devils defenseman Brendan Smith instead.

Once again, the officials stepped in to prevent a brawl from erupting on the ice. Brady Tkachuk was eventually escorted off the ice, while Hischier received a minor penalty for his late shot on goal.

Here are some other social media reactions to the empty netter goal:

"Wait a minute...The same Brady Tkachuk who supposedly thought Ridly Greig's slapshot empty netter was hilarious, a while back? Hypocrite," said one fan.

"So puck into empty net matters now, I see," another fan said.

"Acting like Nico took a slapshot into the net. Jeeeeeez," a user wrote.

"He’s such a loser. brady and matthew. little spoiled brats," one fan wrote.

"Apparently the code matters now," another fan wrote.

One user said on X: "Wait. So the Sens are NOT okay with empty net foolery?"

"Hyp-o-crite," another user wrote.

Brady Tkachuk set the record for the most hits in an NHL game since hits started being officially tracked, tallying an impressive 16 hits.

Brady Tkachuk on Senators 4-3 loss over the Devils

New Jersey jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead over Ottawa with goals from Erik Haula, Ondrej Palat and Brendan Smith. Ottawa cut the deficit to 3-1 early in the second with a Jake Sanderson power-play goal but Hischier responded to make it 4-1 in favour of the Devils.

In the third, Ottawa mounted a comeback attempt with goals by Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk. However, despite a missed penalty shot by Jack Hughes, New Jersey hung on for the 4-3 win.

In the post-game interview, Tkachuk spoke about wanting the team to play like the third period.

“The third period, it felt like that was probably our best period all year. We just did the little things right, put it behind them, got physical and a lot of guys stepped up.”

"Hit a post, a couple of chances that could’ve gone in and just the goalie made some big saves or there were big blocks by their team. Tough result, but proud of the pushback and the effort that we had there.”

The Devils' next opponents are the Nashville Predators on Sunday night, while the Senators take on the Washington Capitals in their next game.