Auston Matthews loses it on referee after outrageous penalty call late in the game

With less than three minutes remaining in Thursday's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken, Auston Matthews was whistled for a high-sticking penalty.

Toronto had pulled ahead 3-1, but having Seattle on the power play with an extra attacker certainly didn't make things any easier on the Leafs, who suddenly were minus their best player.

That's a tough break, but in this case, it shouldn't have happened at all. The moment the whistle went off, Matthews was livid, marching to the box while unleashing a string of expletives in the direction of the officials.

Though the audio wasn't included in TSN's post on X, the frustration from the fans watching the live broadcast came through loud and clear.

The reason? His stick never came close to touching Seattle's Brandon Montour. Instead, Montour sold the call and had the referees buying in, sending Matthews to the box.

In reality, Matthews' stick barely even glanced off Montour's own stick, which then made slight contact with his face. Hardly worthy of a penalty, as Montour's own stick was the one that ultimately made contact.

Fortunately for Toronto, Seattle didn't score on the man advantage, and the Leafs closed out a 3-1 win, extending their streak to three straight victories. Justice was ultimately served, though it would be nice if the refs got it right in the first place.