The default facial expression for Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman is deadly serious. Through his rapidly-growing playoff beard, you rarely see even a hint of a smile.

Since returning from an eight-game suspension that cost him most of February, Hartman has been on his best behavior, all business on the ice, and has proven to be a valuable postseason asset with his hard-nosed play.So, it was quite a sight, with 75 seconds left in Game 5 of this entertaining first-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights, to see Hartman flashing a broad grin and doing a strut in the offensive zone. It came after he scored what briefly appeared to be the goal that would have given Minnesota a 3-2 series lead with the series headed back to St. Paul.

The goal was disallowed when reviews showed Gustav Nyquist’s skate an inch offside entering the zone. And by the time reporters talked to Hartman in the quiet postgame locker room after the Knights’ 3-2 overtime win, he was back to his default “all business” face and admitted that “no goal” was the right call.

“It’s offsides. It happens 50 times a game. Just happened to be it was on a goal,” Hartman said. “You feel bad, but (nothing Nyquist) should feel down about. It’s offsides. That thing happens throughout the game.”

And like everyone else packing up green and red socks and jerseys for a trip back to Minnesota, and a must-win Game 6, there was a laser-like focus on the next 60 minutes of hockey, and not back to the outrageous fortune that had just befallen the team and its legion of fans.

“That’s all it is. We go home and we play one hockey game at our home ice and get a win,” Hartman said. “There’s nothing else to look at. There’s nothing else to look forward to. Just one game. Go get a win.”

That was the consensus by the time the Wild were back in Minnesota on Wednesday afternoon. Forget a pair of overtime losses to a confident Vegas team that trailed in the series, 2-1, when this week began. Forget the fact that with two bounces, Minnesota would already be on to the second round, waiting to face either Edmonton or Los Angeles.

Forget everything except Thursday night, and the need to score one more than the Golden Knights and force one more trip to the desert.

“We live the life of a competitor. We didn’t win the game last night. Regardless, no matter what the circumstances were behind it … it’s behind us. We’ve got to get ready for the next one,” Wild coach John Hynes said while meeting with reporters at MSP airport Wednesday afternoon.

As a few players did on Tuesday, Hynes offered some simple math, noting that Vegas has had six chances to win four games, and has not done so yet, winning the last two by the slimmest of margins. The Golden Knights come to Minnesota with a winning streak, but Hynes thinks that is irrelevant.

“I don’t believe in momentum. Momentum doesn’t carry game to game. Belief carries game to game,” Hynes said. “We have belief. We know we can win. We know we’re playing a good series. We know we’ve got to come out and win a hockey game tomorrow.”

To that end, the Wild are hopeful that starting goalie Filip Gustavsson can return from the illness that kept him off the ice for the third period and overtime in Game 5. And they vow to have a short memory, putting the near misses of the past two games behind them long before the puck drops with 18,000 full-throated Wild fans offering them encouragement in Game 6.

“The only thing that matters is Thursday night, and we’re gonna be ready to compete and play our ‘A’ game, and it’s gonna be loud, and that’s everything right now is the next one,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said. “They still have to beat us, so we’re confident and we’re gonna be ready to go.”

Fans who keep an eye on Hartman during warmups Thursday will certainly see that deadly serious game face, as the veteran and his teammates attempt to use that invisible belief Hynes talks about to counteract the invisible momentum Vegas has grabbed over the past 11 periods of hockey.

And if all goes according to the Wild’s plans, if the final horn blows and there is a Game 7 to be played, look closely and one might even see Hartman offer a hint of a smile.