Blues agitator Steve Ott patted Jason Zucker's helmet following a Game 2 whistle like an owner calming his sad-eyed puppy but the patronizing gesture did not get into the Wild winger's head.
Zucker shrugged off Ott's antics Sunday and was uninterested in rehashing the second-period encounter, which NBC analyst Brian Engblom gleefully crystallized into an anecdote of playoff hockey.
"I have nothing to say about that. I'll just laugh at it all the time, that's about it," Zucker said.
Battle lines have been drawn and gamesmanship is in full bloom after the Wild and Blues split the first two games in St.