The playoffs are known to create unlikely heroes and unexpected villains in the span of one good or bad shift. Looking back on the Minnesota Wild’s six-game playoff run, perhaps the unlikeliest of heroes to wear red and green in a valiant but losing effort was veteran forward Ryan Hartman.
His two goals on Thursday in the series finale combined with a quartet of assists for a point-per-game average from a player who started the series centering the Wild’s fourth line. The stellar postseason came after a generally forgettable run from October to mid April that included injuries, long scoring droughts and an eight-game suspension in February.
“I think Ryan grew a little bit,” Wild coach John Hynes said in the postgame press conference Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. “Coming after that suspension, I think (it was) just his mental focus from when he came back coming down the stretch to end the regular season and into the playoffs — more focused.”
Always known for his hard-nosed, edgy play, Hartman began the series by sending a message that he would not be goaded into retaliation, even after a nasty cross check to his face delivered by Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague. Past suspensions were no guarantee of future blow-ups, the Golden Knights learned. And Hartman’s coach noticed.
“Channel his energy the right way. Play the game the right way,” Hynes said. “He had a great playoffs for us. It was really good to see. The one thing I do know about him is he has that competitive gene. When it gets hard, and when the stakes get high, he has that mindset and ability to be able to produce and play his best — and he did that for us in this series.”
The resurgence came after many Wild fans were ready to be done with Hartman at the trade deadline, although a no-move clause in his contract made that talk mostly pointless. Hartman was initially suspended 10 games for driving Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle headfirst into the ice during an early February road game. On appeal, the suspension was reduced to eight games, and upon his return Wild general manager Bill Guerin made it clear that they expected “best behavior” from the oft-suspended Chicago native who has been in Minnesota since 2019.
Hartman spent the mandated time off — which included the league’s two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off — working on and off the ice and returned for an early March game in Seattle in great shape, mentally and physically. In his 21 regular-season games after the suspension, Hartman had four goals and five assists while serving just 15 minutes in the penalty box.
Promoted to center the Wild’s third line between Marcus Foligno and Gustav Nyquist after the Wild’s series-opening loss, Hartman proved to be an essential hard-hitting playoff center, winning faceoffs and very briefly looking like he had given the Wild a vital series lead in Game 5.
His apparent goal with 1:15 left in regulation at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was eventually taken off the board when replays showed Nyquist was maybe an inch offside. The Wild lost in overtime, eventually dropping the final three games of the series after taking a 2-1 series lead.
In the quiet Wild locker room after the season had ended, when asked about his breakout performance in the playoffs, Hartman was in no mood for self promotion, preferring more games to play over personal accolades.
“I’d rather have been out of the lineup and we move on,” he said. “It doesn’t really … matter.”
He didn’t want to look back at the latest playoff disappointment and instead focused on what he believes is ahead for this team.
“I love our group. Gain experience from things you go through, especially if you’re a young guy,” said Hartman, who will be 31 by the time next season begins. “We’ve got guys in this lineup that can play in the playoffs, and get us wins and. you know, we love everyone in our lineup. And we’re just going to keep getting better.”
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