Last night, the Florida Panthers suffered a 5-3 defeat, with Matthew Tkachuk being left unsupported by his teammate after he made a crucial save late in the game.
With the Panthers trailing by one goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the final minute of the game, coach Paul Maurice pulled Sergei Bobrovsky from the ice and sent in a sixth skater.
Despite the Panthers controlling the puck, the Oilers capitalized by shooting into the empty net.
In a desperate effort, Matthew Tkachuk dove to prevent the puck from crossing the goal line at the last second.
Unfortunately, his teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson had already given up on the play, unable to prevent Connor McDavid from reaching the puck and scoring behind the goal line.
This is how it all went down in the video below:
Tkachuk makes an all-time great goal-line save and Ekman-Larsson just...gives up on the play and lets McDavid score anyway.
With the Stanley Cup in the building, come on man.
Whether Ekman-Larsson believed the puck had already gone in or simply didn't see McDavid, he shouldn't have abandoned the play.
In a crucial game like last night's, quitting isn't an option. This play could potentially tarnish Ekman-Larsson's reputation.