Referee Steve Kozari caught dropping F-bomb on hot mic during Game 7

Referee Steve Kozari was caught dropping an F-bomb on a hot mic during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers on Sunday.

Sam Bennett and Brandon Carlo were sent to the penalty box for roughing at 8:27 in the first period. As he was skating to the red line to make the penalty announcement, Kozari’s microphone was active.

The official could be heard saying “don’t test me. Don’t f—ing test me,” into the mic.

Beware of the bad language.

I LOVE A LIVE REF MIC pic.twitter.com/XmIFpAR9GP

— Tony X (@soIoucity) April 30, 2023

What set off Kozari? It appeared that Carlo was getting smart with him and saying something to the effect of “you’re sure,” maybe about making the penalty call. That appeared to prompt Kozari’s response.

https://twitter.com/WillPresti/status/1652813200079962115

A minute after the offsetting roughing penalties, Brandon Montour scored a power play goal to put his Panthers up 1-0.