Like his team, Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman is in deep trouble after committing a reprehensible act that earned him a two-game suspension.
There is little to celebrate in the Wild’s locker room as the team suffered its seventh straight loss on Sunday, falling 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. And Hartman still found a way to get noticed, but after the meeting. He tripped his opponent Alex DeBrincat in the third period and when the gesture made in front of the visitors’ bench did not earn him a penalty, the NHL’s player safety department disagreed with the officials.
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It will be further consolation for DeBrincat, because if he enjoyed the win, he was certainly angry about receiving a penalty for reacting to the Wild’s color carrier.
Coming back to Hartman, who has 11 points in 18 games this season, adding to his problems are the negative elements affecting Quebecer Marc-André Fleury’s club. Some members of the group expressed their dissatisfaction in the presence of journalists.
“Seven in a row is unacceptable, especially for this group of guys,” said veteran Patrick Maroon, a three-time Stanley Cup winner who will miss his years with the St. Louis-based Tampa Bay Lightning and Blues. We should be concerned and keep a careful eye on the timing of our next game. We need to understand the problem here. We lose a ton of points.”
Boldy in his sights
For his part, Dean Evason, who lost his position as head coach of the Wild on Monday, demanded more from his best offensive players, especially Matthew Boldy, before his departure. So far he has only scored once in twelve games.
“Sometimes we take responsibility, but sometimes a player has to step up. I don’t care how old you are or what’s going on. These guys earn a lot of money to score goals and perform better. Some people don’t do the job.”
Minnesota hosts the Blues on Tuesday.