Minnesota Wild defenseman Greg Pateryn suited up for his team's game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, ready to help against a returning Sidney Crosby and the Penguins -- until he was removed from the bench by the on-ice officials.
Pateryn was mistakenly listed as a scratch on the lineup card submitted by Wild coach Bruce Boudreau and his staff. The on-ice officials conferred with the Minnesota bench at the start of the game, and Pateryn left the bench, walked down the runway to the dressing room and left the Wild with five defensemen.
"It's all my fault," Boudreau said after Minnesota's 7-3 loss. "I do the lineups first thing in the morning, and the first thing that goes down is the lowest number. I put Donato [No. 6] on and forgot Pateryn [No. 29]. And when I looked and the thing was full, I figured I did it right.
"But it's a dumb mistake. Never done that before. To start the game with five 'D,' I take full blame."
Forward Ryan Donato was scheduled to play in the game based on the lineup card but did not dress. He then suited up and joined the Wild bench in the first period, taking a spin on the ice to loosen up during a TV timeout.
Without the benefit of a warm-up, Donato didn't take a shift until there were 2 minutes, 9 seconds left in the second period.