Fans of the Minnesota Wild got more than they bargained for during the broadcast of Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers ... when someone threw out an NSFW word that got picked up by a hot mic.

The incident happened about halfway through the game in Edmonton ... when, during a quiet moment in the broadcast, someone was heard saying, when the score is 3-0, "every goalie is r*****ed."

The comment's followed by a chorus of squealing laughter ... though, as far as we can tell, it was never addressed during the broadcast.

It's unclear who exactly used the word ... while most people associate mics with announcers, athletic events have mics strewn throughout arenas.

It could've been a fan who actually said it ... we've reached out to the Wild for comment -- so far, no word back.

Worth noting ... the two people in the Wild's booth -- play-by-play man Anthony LaPanta and color commentator Ryan Carter -- haven't said anything about what happened publicly ... though LaPanta posted about the game multiple times on X ... and while the game was shown on ESPN, the Minnesota Wild's broadcast team were the ones hosting the game.

Bottom line ... you may want to keep your head on a swivel at an NHL game -- ya never know who might be listening.