WA-MIN-Gustavsson Goalie Goal ST. PAUL - The Wild held a practice on Thursday at The TRIA Rink. Everyone was on the ice for Minnesota, including Ryan Hartman. Hartman, 30, has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury but was back at practice on Thursday. Wild head coach John Hynes said on Thursday that Hartman could be an option to return to the lineup on Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning but Hynes said he doesn't know where Hartman would fit in the lineup. The first couple of games without Hartman, Marat Khusnutdinov took the 30-year-old's spot as the team's third line center. But the last couple of games it has been Freddy Gaudreau. According to MoneyPuck [https://moneypuck.com/lines.htm], the Foligno-Gaudreau-Trenin line leads the team in expected goals against per 60 minutes and is first in expected goals for per 60 minutes (min three games). Since being put together, that third line has been the best 5v5 line that the Wild have. This means if Hartmans returns, he could play on the fourth line with Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko. Let us know what you think by commenting below or on the Forum [https://thehockeynews.rtb.io/minnesota-wild/posts]. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/] for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
