"Always been a dirtball", "Another dive": NHL fans divided over Ryan Hartman's ejection for attempting to injure Tim Stutzle

Ryan Hartman’s ejection from Saturday’s game between the Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators caused a stir among fans. Hartman received a five-minute “attempting to injure” penalty for an incident with Tim Stutzle. After a faceoff, Hartman brought Stutzle down and pushed his head into the ice. Stutzle was bleeding from a cut above his eye but stayed in the game.

Fans reacted on X after Spittin’ Chiclets shared the clip.

"Ryan Hartman was given a match penalty for attempt to injure on this play with Tim Stützle 🫣," Spittin’ Chiclets captioned the tweet.

"Hartman has always been a dirtball," one fan said.

"Another dive. He was committed to the bit and gave himself an ouchie," another fan said.

"Stutzle beat Hartman on the faceoff. Hartman's hand loses control of his stick when pulling back. Hartman catches himself off-balance. Hartman puts his entire body weight on Stutzle to stay upright. Stutzle is already bent over like a dog. Doesn't look intentional," one fan said.

Here are some more reactions to Ryan Hartman's hit from fans on X:

"I would hope to see some suspension and fines from that kind of play," a fan said.

"He tried to knock out all of Perfetti's teeth on a face off too. He's a weak coward, hope someone takes him out soon," another fan said.

"But cross check Larkin is the neck is no penalty, no fine, no suspension, but the league will admit they got it wrong. This has happened multiple times" one fan said.

Ryan Hartman is likely will face a supplemental review for the incident. He has been suspended four times before in his career.

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Ryan Hartman couldn't revive the Wild, losing a 6-0 shutout to the Senators

The Ottawa Senators beat the Minnesota Wild 6-0 on Saturday for their fourth straight win. Jake Sanderson had a goal and three assists. Josh Norris scored short-handed at 18:01 of the first period.

Tim Stutzle made it 2-0 at 7:38 of the second, tapping in a pass from Brady Tkachuk. Michael Amadio scored at 8:45 with a quick shot over Filip Gustavsson’s glove.

Ottawa added three power-play goals early in the third. Sanderson scored at 0:38, Tkachuk at 1:37, and Drake Batherson at 2:52. Leevi Merilainen made 16 saves for his third shutout.