No supplemental discipline for Rangers’ Jacob Trouba after ‘devastating but clean’ hit
Jacob Trouba will not face supplemental discipline for his thunderous third-period hit against Justin Barron in the New York Rangers’ 7-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.
Trouba laid Barron out at 7:11 with a booming check in which he kept his arms in and exploded through the Canadiens defenseman along the boards in the neutral zone. Barron appeared to put himself in a vulnerable position before the hit, which is part of the criteria for a penalty or further discipline being handed out.
Barron was dazed and cut, and appeared to hit his head on the ice after the check. He was helped to the dressing room and didn’t return. Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis and several of his players voiced displeasure that Trouba was not penalized for the hit.
“When I saw the replay I found the principal point of contact was the head,” St. Louis stated firmly after the game.
Yet, despite the howls of the Montreal media, Hockey Insider Darren Dreger told TSN 690 that the hit was clean, no matter if Barron was hurt or not on the play.
“It was a devastating hit … devastating but clean,” Dreger explained. “That is how you can break down a lot of Jacob Trouba hits. You don’t like them because they’re explosive and can be damaging, and you never like to see a player like Justin Barron — any player for that matter — down and dazed on the play.
“But I can appreciate the emotion of the fan base, I can understand the frustration as a teammate or as an organization. You don’t like to see that. But if you analyze the play, which is what George Parros of the Department of Player Safety does, I don’t think there’s any level of supplemental discipline.”
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from convincing 7-2 win against Canadiens
Jacob Trouba off to strong start with Rangers this season
It was the first signature Trouba hit of the young season, one where he absolutely explodes through an opposing player. The 30-year-old walks the fine line with some of these massive checks, and is among the most feared — and disliked — players in the League.
The Rangers captain has been previously suspended and/or fined for borderline or blatant illegal hits. Tuesday, there was no penalty on the play until Trouba was challenged to a fight by Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson.
Trouba received a five-minute major as did Matheson, who also received an instigating minor and 10-minute misconduct.
“He did not target the head,” Dreger said about Trouba. “You have to look at it and put both players in the sequence. It’s not just about how Jacob Trouba went through Justin Barron. Was Justin Barron responsible for a position of vulnerability? And that matters.”
Trouba is off to a good start this season, and that continued Tuesday night. He leads the Rangers with 16 blocked shots, has four assists and is a plus-seven through six games. His xGF is a solid 57.75 percent, per Natural Stat Trick.
He set the tone against the Canadiens with two key blocked shots on the game’s first shift, setting up a transition that led to Mika Zibanejad’s goal at the other end of the ice just 54 seconds into the game. The Rangers surged to a 4-0 lead and knocked Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault out of the game at 11:05 of the first period.
Next up for the red-hot Rangers and their captain is a clash with the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at MSG on Thursday. It’s their first look at the Panthers since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final when the Rangers were eliminated by them.
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