Minnesota Wild scratch Ryan Hartman for taking too many penalties

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Minnesota Wild scratch Ryan Hartman for taking too many penalties

In an interview with Minnesota’s KFAN 1003 on Thursday morning, Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason said forward Ryan Hartman will be scratched against Philadelphia on Thursday due to his “propensity of penalties” in recent games.

Hartman has been penalized for 21 minutes over the past three games, registering just one assist in that span. Hartman has been a solid secondary scorer for the Wild with five goals and 14 points in 25 games, so his absence will be notable.

But it’s a move that Hartman understands himself, telling reporters “Message received.”

Hartman took responsibility for Minnesota’s recent loss to Tampa Bay, taking a hooking penalty with just over five minutes to go while the Wild trailed by a goal late.

“I felt like I let my team down,” he said. “I’m responsible for some of the things that have gone on. Obviously not a good feeling.”

Hartman centered Minnesota’s second line with Matt Boldy and Frederick Gaudreau in the team’s last game. According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Gaudreau will move into the center spot, and Brandon Duhaime will move up to the third-line left-wing spot.

Hartman has struggled to live up to the offensive potential he showed last year. After scoring a career-high 19 goals and 31 points as a rookie in 2016-17, Hartman exploded with 34 goals and 65 points while playing crucial minutes in Minnesota’s top six. He’s on pace for just 12 goals and 34 points this year after missing time due to injury.

The Wild are currently out of a wild-card spot with a 25-17-4 record through 46 games. They’re six points behind Edmonton in the top wild-card position and one point behind Colorado for third in the Central Division. The Wild have a 4-4-2 record over the past 10 games with a three-game losing streak, so they’ll look to change the tides with a win against Philadelphia.

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