The Wild forward had two goals and an assist in the 8-5 win, but the main talking point was his run-in with St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington during the second period.
"We've always kind of had a bad rep with St. Louis with playoffs, you can say a little bit of a rivalry," Hartman told co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke. "We always play hard against each other. It's obviously a part of the game. Things weren't looking good for us in the first period, but I think we scored like three goals in less than two minutes at one point and then things kind got a little out of hand. But that's the kind of hockey we like. That's the kind of hockey fans like. I think we had a good time with it."
With the game tied 4-4, Hartman scored at 12:25 of the second period and was on his way to celebrate with his teammates when he tripped over Binnington. The Blues goalie reacted by jumping into the Wild celebration and taking a swing at Hartman with his blocker. Binnington received a match penalty and on Thursday
was suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety
.
Hartman said the fact that the Wild won the game allowed him to feel the way he did Thursday.
"Yeah, I mean, I'd probably have a different opinion if we lost, to be honest with you," he said. "I probably wouldn't be sitting here saying how much I enjoyed that game. But that's how it went. Everyone respects everyone. It's hockey. Sometimes games are played harder than other games. Sometimes things happen throughout the game and emotions get high and that's kind of what happened last night."
Hartman also discussed the Wild's current 11-0-3 run, joking with coach Dean Evason on the bench, and pranks he's played with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
In addition to the wide-ranging interview with Hartman, Rosen and Roarke broke down some of the issues that were covered during the NHL general managers meetings in Manalapan, Florida this week, particularly debating the merits of adding more video review.
They also talked about the Carolina Hurricanes and the impact of the season-ending knee injury sustained by forward Andrei Svechnikov.
They talked about the one likely playoff team in the Eastern Conference that is most vulnerable now (Roarke said the New York Rangers) and the team in the Western Conference that might have peaked too early (Rosen said the Seattle Kraken).
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