Facing elimination, Wild put on their game face

The default facial expression for Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman is deadly serious Through his rapidly-growing playoff beard you rarely see even a hint of a smile Since returning from an eight-game suspension that cost him majority of February Hartman has been on his best behavior all business on the ice and has proven to be a valuable postseason asset with his hard-nosed play So it was quite a sight with seconds left in Encounter of this entertaining first-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights to see Hartman flashing a broad grin and doing a strut in the offensive zone It came after he scored what briefly appeared to be the goal that would have given Minnesota a - series lead with the series headed back to St Paul The goal was disallowed when reviews revealed Gustav Nyquist s skate an inch offside entering the zone And by the time reporters talked to Hartman in the quiet postgame locker room after the Knights - overtime win he was back to his default all business face and admitted that no goal was the right call It s offsides It happens times a competition Just happened to be it was on a goal Hartman mentioned You feel bad but nothing Nyquist should feel down about It s offsides That thing happens throughout the championship And like everyone else packing up green and red socks and jerseys for a trip back to Minnesota and a must-win Contest there was a laser-like focus on the next minutes of hockey and not back to the outrageous fortune that had just befallen the association and its legion of fans That s all it is We go home and we play one hockey tournament at our home ice and get a win Hartman reported There s nothing else to look at There s nothing else to look forward to Just one meeting Go get a win That was the consensus by the time the Wild were back in Minnesota on Wednesday afternoon Forget a pair of overtime losses to a confident Vegas company that trailed in the series - when this week began Forget the fact that with two bounces Minnesota would already be on to the second round waiting to face either Edmonton or Los Angeles Forget everything except Thursday night and the need to amount one more than the Golden Knights and force one more trip to the desert We live the life of a competitor We didn t win the competition last night Regardless no matter what the circumstances were behind it it s behind us We ve got to get ready for the next one Wild coach John Hynes mentioned while meeting with reporters at MSP Airport Wednesday afternoon As a scant players did on Tuesday Hynes offered specific simple math noting that Vegas has had six chances to win four games and has not done so yet winning the last two by the slimmest of margins The Golden Knights come to Minnesota with a winning streak but Hynes thinks that is irrelevant I don t believe in momentum Momentum doesn t carry tournament to challenge Belief carries encounter to contest Hynes announced We have belief We know we can win We know we re playing a good series We know we ve got to come out and win a hockey match the coming day To that end the Wild are hopeful that starting goalie Filip Gustavsson can return from the illness that kept him off the ice for the third period and overtime in Event And they vow to have a short memory putting the near misses of the past two games behind them long before the puck drops with full-throated Wild fans offering them encouragement in Competition The only thing that matters is Thursday night and we re gonna be ready to compete and play our A challenge and it s gonna be loud and that s everything right now is the next one Wild defenseman Brock Faber declared They still have to beat us so we re confident and we re gonna be ready to go Fans who keep an eye on Hartman during warmups Thursday will certainly see that deadly serious tournament face as the veteran and his teammates attempt to use that invisible belief Hynes talks about to counteract the invisible momentum Vegas has grabbed over the past periods of hockey And if all goes according to the Wild s plans if the final horn blows and there is a Event to be played look closely and one might even see Hartman offer a hint of a smile Related Articles Vegas delivers gut punch as Knights push Wild to brink of elimination Jon Merrill returns to Wild defense corps for Meeting During Wild s injury woes Matt Boldy blocked out the noise Wild s Marcus Foligno has been at his best in the playoffs Even after tough loss Hynes confidence in Wild remains unshakable