Wild's Hartman accused of high-sticking Winnipeg player's face on purpose

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman allegedly admitted that he intentionally high-sticked Winnipeg Jets winger Cole Perfetti in the face on Sunday. 

Hartman hit Perfetti in the face after a faceoff early in Minnesota's 3-2 loss to the Jets. The NHL Department of Player Safety issued the Wild forward a $4,427.08 fine for the high stick, the maximum allowed. It is Hartman's seventh fine in his career.

Perfetti told Winnipeg media Tuesday morning that Hartman said he deliberately high-sticked him in the face as payback for Brenden Dillon's cross-checks to Kirill Kaprizov's back a day earlier.

"[Hartman] made it pretty obvious. He said it in, kind of, a respectful way, he said, 'No disrespect. Nothing against you. Just something had to happen for what happened to Kaprizov,'" Perfetti recalled. "[Kaprizov] is obviously going to be out for a bit. I don't think Dillon was trying to hurt him, was just playing heavy. That play happened. You know, [Hartman] wasn't trying to be a bad guy. I think he was just, you know, that's what he thought he needed to do to get back at us."

"Kind of a weird thing to come out and admit it," Perfetti continued. "He blatantly said it was for what happened, even though I didn't even do anything in the play."