Hartman stood at the end of the bench on Saturday, smiling in disbelief, as the refs announced he'd been kicked out of the game. In his meeting with the league, Hartman claimed he was attempting to use his hand to regain his balance using Stutzle for support and that their fall to the ice was accidental.

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman was suspended for the fifth time in his career. He also has been fined seven times.

Ryan Hartman will pay the price for his vicious attack on Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle on Saturday night. The National Hockey League’s department of player safety has offered the Minnesota Wild winger an in-person hearing after he was tossed out of the club’s 6-0 loss to the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre.