He didn’t make a mistake. In hindsight, if he had a slow-motion camera to review it, he may not have (blown the play dead). He did what all officials are instructed to do. Blow the whistle when they don’t see the puck. And he didn’t see the puck. He said he talked to the players on the ice. It’s an emotional game. He wanted to explain to the players on the ice, as he saw it, the puck was out of sight and he blew the whistle. The assumption was that the puck was covered.

-E.J. McGuire, series manager for the NHL, discussing the horrible play that ended the wings chances at a comeback, when referee Brad Watson intended to call an early whistle and blew a definite goal by Marian Hossa dead.