RALEIGH, N.C. – If Ryan Hartman is the kind of person who makes New Year’s resolutions, perhaps he vowed to start scoring goals again in 2025.
And in Minnesota’s first game of the New Year, after enduring a lengthy drought without getting a puck over the goal line, the 30-year-old forward did just that, tipping a first-period shot by Zach Bogosian, which slipped past Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren at a critical time in the opening period of the Wild’s eventual 4-3 shootout win.
Playing before a raucous red-clad home crowd, the Capitals had just scored to take a lead, and Hartman had an answer 65 seconds later, going to the net-front to do one of the things that has been the hallmark of his career. He had snapped an 18-game streak without a point in the Wild’s win over Nashville on New Year’s Eve, then snapped a 19-game streak without a goal in Washington. Prior to scoring versus the Caps, his last glance at the red goal light had come on Nov. 19 in a win at St. Louis.
In the happy Wild locker room afterwards, he talked more of relief than jubilation.
“I’ve been through stuff like that before, I got everyone’s been through those times. It wasn’t for a lack of chances. I feel like I was getting some opportunities, especially as of late,” said Hartman, who is in his 11th NHL season. “It’s a constant sometimes when you don’t see it go in then you almost pick a little too much. But I knew it was gonna happen eventually. Obviously, I was hoping that maybe it was a little sooner, but it felt good.”
After the team’s morning skate in Carolina on Saturday, Wild coach John Hynes said seeing Hartman score again was important, but the way he did it was just as important.
“It’s tough, you know, guys want to be able to do the right things, and sometimes when you have chances to score, and you want to score and you don’t get rewarded for it, and you’re going through a struggle, it’s hard,” Hynes said. “So, to be able to get one and really to get one where he’s got to be there to get more, is what I like the most about it. He was at the net-front, kind of getting into it a little bit with (Alexander) Ovechkin, and then he’s at the net-front, then he gets a tip, that’s kind of Ryan Hartman in a nutshell, and that’s that’s the guy we need him to be.”
Never one to hang his head when things weren’t going well, Hartman admitted that he got a little superstitious in the midst of the drought and stopped playing soccer to warm up before games. He changed his pregame diet a bit as well.
“You try not to let it get in your head, but we’re all human,” Hartman admitted. “Maybe trying some different types of pastas or whatever before the game. Like I said, everyone’s kind of been through stuff like that before, and you hope you’re not getting too down right?”
The goal versus the Capitals was Hartman’s fifth of the season after he missed five games in October due to an upper body injury.
Record haul for Wild charity event
The Xcel Energy Center’s arena seats were empty, but the floor of the rink was full in early December for the annual Wild Foundation Gala, which benefits not only the team’s charitable foundation, but Children’s Minnesota, which is one of the biggest pediatric health networks in the state.
When the receipts were counted from ticket sales, merchandise sales and the live and silent auctions and donations from that night, the team announced that a record $477,775 had been raised in one night. Attendees at the event had appetizers and dinner served to them by celebrity wait staff, including Wild players, all while event emcees Audra Martin and Kevin Gorg from the Wild’s television broadcast team provided colorful analysis of the various players’ serving abilities and techniques.
“We are so grateful for the continued support and generosity of our fans and donors as well as the Minnesota Wild players and hockey operations staff that participates,” said Rachel Schuldt, executive director of the Minnesota Wild Foundation. “This event is a great showcase of both the organization and community’s dedication to creating a greater State of Hockey for all.”
Since their first event in 2003, the Wild Foundation has raised more than $3.4 million.
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