Jake Middleton Drops 6’7″ Logan Stanley Like a Redwood Pine

The Minnesota Wild are playing the Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba on Tuesday night, in a rematch from January, when Ryan Hartman probably definitely high sticked Cole Perfetti in the face on purpose during a faceoff.

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Fast forward more than a month later and nobody was really sure how tonight was going to go. But when the puck dropped on the first period… hockey happened. No fights, no retribution, just hockey. That was, until just over two minutes remained in that initial period.

That’s when Jake Middleton could have killed Jets’ centerman Mark Scheifele, when his skate got caught in the ice right in front of the boards, causing him to trip and start head-first toward serious danger, with Middleton’s momentum pushing him from behind.

Minnesota Wild’s Jake Middleton drops Jets’ Logan Stanley with righty haymaker

At first glance, the hit looks egregious. But when slowed down, you can tell that Middleton hesitates with his hit at the last moment, a slight pause that very well may have saved Scheifele from serious bodily harm.

But again, a lot was happening in a short period of time and Winnipeg ‘enforcer’ Logan Stanley skated over to (politely?) protect his guy. Middleton immediately obliged and we had a scuffle on our hands.

Jake Middleton vs. Logan Stanley pic.twitter.com/bnBhFe8imQ

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) February 21, 2024

The first thing you noticed when these two started skating closer to each other, was just how big Logan Stanley is. At 6’7″ (without skates) the 25-year-old defenseman towered over Middleton. And when he got ahold of Jake’s #5 Wild jersey, it felt like sure doom was inevitable.

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But then, Stanley let his guard down momentarily and Middleton got two or three quick shots in. Just like that, goodnight Irene, and Stanley was falling like a redwood pine. Tiimmmmmberrrrr!!! On the way down, Middleton got Stanley one more time with a righty haymaker.

Remember kids, it’s not always the size of the lion, but the size of the lion’s heart that matters. And on Tuesday night, even as he was getting whipped around by Hagrid from Hogwarts, Jake Middleton found a way to land one lights out blow, which is all it takes if you get them good enough. Unfortunately, the Wild couldn’t pull out a win in Winnipeg, losing 6-3.