Wilds Ryan Hartman is a healthy scratch vs. Flyers

We could see this coming.

Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason goes to a healthy scratch Ryan Hartman in the lineup on Thursdays against Philadelphia Flyersa series of performances where the striker was awarded too many damn penalties.

Everything came to a boil on Tuesday night Tampa Bay Lightning, when Steven Stamkos managed to score the game-winning goal because Hartman hit the puck and it flew right off him into the net. And then, just 40 seconds later, a Wild forward took a hooking penalty to nullify any chance the Wild had of getting back into the game with just five minutes left on the clock.

After the game, Hartman felt guilty about the loss.

I felt like I let my team down, he said. I am responsible for some things that have gone. Not a good feeling, of course.

Evason, who is typically quite forgiving if someone on the team messes up, ended up agreeing with Hartman and called him out for breaking the game.

He should be hard on himself, Evason said. That’s stupid. Totally stupid.

Looking back even further, Hartman has a total of 21 penalty minutes in the past three games after earning a foul. Carolina Hurricanes and then the two against a rough and combative punishment Florida Panthers. The guy just loves being in the penalty box.

And this is where the Wild have truly earned their current losing streak. In 2023, Minnesota’s opponents have averaged 3.5 power-play opportunities per game, which doesn’t even mention their length, as five-minute majors are thrown there as well. That’s way too much for any team to win more games than they lose.

In place of Hartmans, we expect Mason Shaw to come into the lineup and provide a nice little spark. He will likely feature on the fourth line with Connor Dewar and Ryan Reaves, and Brandon Duhaime will be promoted to third alongside Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy. At least that’s what we expect!

In 25 games this season, Hartman has five goals and 14 points, a far cry from his 34-goal, 65-point season last year.