VGK's Cassidy accuses Hartman of slew-footing McNabb
Published
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy believes Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman got away with slew-footing Brayden McNabb in the third period of his team's 5-1 win on Tuesday.
Hartman got tied up with McNabb while fighting for a puck entering the offensive zone, with McNabb falling to the ice. Hartman gained possession of the puck, helping the Wild set up with Marcus Johansson scoring on Adin Hill roughly 15 second later. The goal brought the score to 2-1, with Vegas pulling away with three goals in the final five minutes and three seconds of the game.
"I thought it was a complete missed call on the goal. I thought it was a slew foot all day long," Cassidy said, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. "Those things, there's puck battles in hockey..., so when guys fall backwards, it's a dangerous play to me.
"So I was still a little hot on that, and I think our guys were too, to be quite honest. I mean, McNabb is one of the most solid guys in the league."
Russo adds that Hartman, who only returned from an eight-game suspension on March 4, will not face supplemental discipline for the incident.
The 30-year-old Hartman was initially suspended for 10 games in February for pushing the head of Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle into the ice off of a face-off. He was assessed a match penalty in-game before the suspension followed, with two games being removed upon appeal.
He has three goals and six points in 11 games since returning while picking up nine minutes in penalties. For the season, Hartman has 10 goals and 23 points in 59 games.
McNabb was not injured on the play, finishing with 21:06 of ice time in his team's victory. He has four goals and 17 points in 71 games this season.