Matthew Tkachuk's teammate embarrassingly quit on him after huge play

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Josh Tupper
June 19, 2024 (8:36)

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson embarrassingly quit on a play after Matthew Tkachuk dove to save the game. OEL's lack of effort led to Connor McDavid scoring.

It takes perseverance, commitment, and a never-say-quit mentality to win a Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, one player's effort of that magnitude is insufficient to complete the task. The Florida Panthers were crushed 5-3 by the Edmonton Oilers last night, narrowing the deficit in their Stanley Cup Finals series even more.

Matthew Tkachuk was prepared to go above and beyond late in the game to prevent the puck from crossing the goal line. One of Tkachuk's colleagues had decided he'd had enough and had given up on the play as he made one of the best saves of the season.

The Panthers looked to have life late in the game after this save, and they might have had a chance to equal the score if they had turned the ball up ice. Rather, following the first play, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is seen on camera giving up completely, letting Connor McDavid recover the puck and then defeating Tkachuk to put his team ahead by two goals.

This is a prime illustration of how a complete team effort is required to win a game. This film is guaranteed to be played repeatedly during the Panthers' upcoming practice. It's hard to witness a player give up on his buddy in such a way after putting out such an amazing effort.

On Friday night, the series returns to Edmonton for Game 6, where the Panthers will try to win the series on their third try.