Wild’s Pitlick receives match penalty for hit to head of Hurricanes’ Chatfield

The Minnesota Wild will finish Thursday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes without Tyler Pitlick after the forward was assessed a match penalty.

With a little more than eight minutes remaining in the first period, Pitlick skated into the Hurricanes’ zone and delivered a hit to the head of Jalen Chatfield, who had just passed the puck up ice.

It is the first match penalty of the 2025-26 season.

Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal immediately came to his teammate’s defence, instigating a fight with Pitlick. However, he was given a 10-minute misconduct for his role in the play.

Chatfield stayed down on the ice and was tended to by team training staff before heading down the tunnel.

There was no immediate update on his status.

As a result of the hit, Pitlick was ejected from the game and