The Wild and Avalanche did not need long to turn their second-round series into something meaner than just playoff hockey.

Minnesota forward Michael McCarron publicly blasted Colorado defenseman Josh Manson during and after Game 4 on Monday night in St. Paul, calling him a dirty player after a heated first-period sequence in which Manson caught McCarron in the face with the butt end of his stick. Colorado went on to beat Minnesota 5-2 and take a 3-1 series lead, but the game’s ugliest moment quickly became the center of the night.

The sequence started after McCarron delivered a hard hit on Manson. As the two tangled and went down, Manson’s stick came up and struck McCarron in the face. Officials reviewed the play and assessed Manson a double minor rather than a five-minute major or a game misconduct, a decision McCarron clearly did not accept.

During an in-game interview, McCarron left no mystery about where he stood. “I blew him up, and he grabbed me and pulls me on top of him,” McCarron said. “He took his butt end and clearly butt-ended me in the face. I don't know how it's not a five-minute. I think the rulebook says it's a five-minute if you butt-end someone in the face.” He then went further, calling Manson “a dirty player” and saying he has “always been” that way and is “not very well-respected.”

Trump's Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Could It Mean For Your Money?

That quote instantly gave the series some extra juice, especially because it came in the middle of the game rather than in the usual postgame cleanup. He added that he was “happy he's still in the game,” a line that only turned up the temperature more.

Manson, for his part, pushed back on the idea that he was trying to injure anyone. After the game, he said he was upset about McCarron landing on him after the hit and said he lost awareness of exactly where his grip was on the stick during the scrum. He did not defend the play as clean, but he also did not accept the idea that it was a deliberate attempt to hurt McCarron.

The game itself did not exactly calm anything down. Minnesota scored on the power play created by the penalty, but Colorado recovered and dominated the third period to close out the 5-2 win. The Avalanche got the result they wanted and moved one win from advancing, but they also left with the series tone fully changed. What had already been a physical matchup now has a direct accusation hanging over one of Colorado’s veteran defensemen.

That is the bigger takeaway here. McCarron did not just complain about a missed call. He put Manson on blast by name and by reputation. In playoff hockey, that sort of accusation tends to stick around for at least another game or two, especially when the video is ugly enough that people are still debating whether the punishment should have been harsher.

FREE Gun Law Map: Laws Don't Pause During Social Unrest

So now the Wild are down 3-1, the Avalanche are in control, and the series has a villain quote attached to it. McCarron called Manson dirty. Manson said he was not trying to injure him. The officials stuck with four minutes. And the next game just got a lot easier to sell.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Objectivist. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.