Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Elliotte Friedman Blames NHL Trend for Matthew Tkachuk Embellishment Call

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated May 27, 2025 8:09 AM ET

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes featured a controversial call as Matthew Tkachuk was penalized for embellishment.

The call came after Carolina’s Jordan Staal was whistled for hooking Tkachuk with under 15 minutes left in the second period.

Fans were left confused as both players were sent off, negating what many expected to be a Panthers power play.

Critical fans called the embellishment penalty on Tkachuk a "horrific call" among other things and accused officials of misjudging the play, saying the penalty should have been assigned just one way.

Why did you have to do @kbieksa3 like that, @FriedgeHNIC? pic.twitter.com/npMObsXGOh
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 27, 2025

NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman addressed the controversy on Sportsnet, saying the issue goes beyond just one incident.

“I don’t think anybody liked the embellishment call,” Friedman said. “But embellishment has been a big problem in the playoffs, and as a result, I think the referees are really screwed up about it.”

Friedman pointed to a larger trend this postseason, where repeated exaggeration by players has made it harder for officials to accurately assess real infractions during live play.

"I think a number of players have been (exaggerating) so much during the postseason that I think it has affected the referees' ability to judge this properly," Friedman said. "So the players and the teams have to stop it."

Tkachuk’s call happened with the game still scoreless, but Carolina eventually got a breakthrough and scored tree unanswered goals.

With the 3-0 win, the Hurricanes stayed alive in the series while snapping a 15-game losing streak in conference final games.

Game 5 is set for Wednesday in Raleigh as Carolina need to win the remainder of the series's games to avoid elimination and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: