Ryan Hartman suspended by NHL for Wild's final regular-season game after illegal hit

NASHVILLE — The Wild are running out of time before the playoffs, just as they're running into personnel issues.

Ryan Hartman was suspended one game for interference against Winnipeg's Nikolaj Ehlers in the Wild's 3-1 loss Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center.

Already, Joel Eriksson Ek and Oskar Sundqvist are hurt, while Marcus Johansson was cross-checked in the final minute of Tuesday's game. Sam Steel left earlier in the action because he was sick, and the Wild's opportunity to replenish their lineup is shrinking.

Their regular-season finale is Thursday at Nashville, and after being locked into third place in the Central Division, they will open the first round on the road — potentially as soon as Monday.

Hartman will miss the team's last tune-up after the NHL Department of Player Safety further punished him for a check against Ehlers 11 minutes, 28 seconds into the third period that led to a minor penalty for interference.

"I have the puck, and I got to brace myself somehow, and he's coming at me," Hartman said after the game. "So, it had nothing to do with really much going on. I had the puck and if I didn't touch the puck, I wouldn't have made an effort to brace myself."

The league heard that argument from Hartman but disagreed, explaining that Ehlers' positioning and skating didn't indicate that he intended to hit Hartman. After he played the puck, the NHL contended that Hartman didn't continue to skate to avoid a collision but rather stopped and initiated contact — what the league described as a forceful check on a player not eligible to be hit and not prepared to protect himself.

This is Hartman's second suspension (the previous one was in 2018), and he's been fined six times, including last month for slashing Calgary's Rasmus Andersson. He'll forfeit $9,189.19 in salary for the suspension.

While Hartman can return for Game 1 of the playoffs, the Wild have other question marks.

Eriksson Ek is week-to-week after blocking a shot April 6 at Pittsburgh and suffering a lower-body injury. Sundqvist also has a lower-body injury after getting hurt in that same game. He's considered day-to-day but hasn't returned.

Johansson was taken into the boards by the Jets' Neal Pionk late in the third period, a cross-check that resulted in a five-minute major and a $5,000 fine the next day.

In the aftermath, both sides scuffled and Ryan Reaves fought Adam Lowry.

"It was a dirty cross-check," Reaves said.

Earlier this week, the Wild rested Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba and captain Jared Spurgeon vs. Chicago, with coach Dean Evason mentioning Kaprizov, Zuccarello, Brodin and Spurgeon as being "banged up."

Evason wasn't concerned those four wouldn't be healthy enough for the playoffs, but the Wild are likely to hold out some players against the Predators. They recalled forwards Sammy Walker and Nick Swaney from Iowa in the American Hockey League. As for the game itself, that outcome won't change the Western Conference playoff picture.

Winnipeg's win eliminated Nashville from contention, and the Wild's regulation loss secured home-ice advantage for Dallas before Colorado getting a point later in the evening did the same for the Avalanche.

Whichever of those teams finishes second will face off against the Wild.

All this adversity has popped up since they clinched April 3, and the team is 2-2 on the ice in that time.

They're in the tricky position of trying to roll into the playoffs at the top of their game while also staying healthy.

"You can't tip-toe [in]," Reaves said.

Not since a 4-2 victory at Colorado on March 29, more than two weeks ago, have they looked as sharp as they were during a 14-game point streak that began in February.

But considering the state of their roster, not losing any more players would be a win for the Wild.

"Ekky in Pittsburgh blocked a shot," goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. "He's not not going to block a shot. It's just not in him.

"You just play the game, play hard and hope for the best."