NHL Referee Sees His Life Flash Before His Eyes After He Mistakenly Awards Goal to Panthers: ‘Oh Sorry!’

An NHL referee was in need of a review of his own call during the New Jersey Devils-Florida Panthers game.

Referee Michael Markovic went to center ice to announce the official call after the Devils argued that the Panthers had illegally interfered with their goalie while scoring a goal. But a half-second after incorrectly saying that the Panthers had a good goal, he realized his error and had to correct himself in front of around 16,000 hockey fans in Newark’s Prudential Center on Thursday, Oct. 16.

“After reviewing the call on the ice stands, we have a goal,” he said with confidence on the ice before immediately correcting himself in a panic, as seen in a now-viral video circling social media.

“Oh, sorry!” he exclaimed on the mic, before adding just mere seconds later, “Excuse me. After review, there is no goal.

The call resulted in a roar from the crowd twice, generating excitement and disappointment from each team.

At the time, the Panthers were down 1-3 to the Devils with 1:17 seconds left in the game.

As Markovic corrected himself, taking back the goal, the cameras cut to the Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice, who was visibly perplexed at the scenario as Devils fans cheered in the background.

“Florida will be charged a bench minor penalty for delay of game,” added Markovic, a seasoned NHL referee with eight seasons and over 318 games under his belt.

A bench minor penalty is a two-minute penalty that’s served by any player of the offending team who was on the ice at the time of the infraction, per the official hockey rulebook.

Ultimately, the Devils defeated the Panthers 3-1.

The Devils’ three goals came from Jack Hughes, Timo Meier and Nico Hischier, while Evan Rodrigues scored the Panthers’ lone goal.

The Panthers will next take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, while the Devils host the Edmonton Oilers.