Jacob Trouba’s bruising style of play has sparked more anger.
The Rangers captain laid a monster hit on Canadiens defenseman Justin Barron with less than 13 minutes left in the third period of the Blueshirts’ 7-2 win in Montreal Tuesday night and promptly got into a fight when Barron’s defense partner, Mike Matheson, went after him.
Trouba, who has become known for his punishing hits that at times have crossed the line, did appear to make contact with Barron’s head, though Barron seemed to lower his head right before the hit and Trouba’s elbow was tucked into his body.
Trouba was not assessed a penalty for the hit, and Matheson was given an instigator penalty and misconduct.
According to The Athletic, Trouba did not comment on the hit after the game because he wanted to watch a replay first.
The Canadiens, however, made their thoughts on the hit crystal clear.
“They had a clean hit on the ice, we have a hit to the head from a player that’s had multiple, multiple warnings,” longtime Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher said, per The Athletic. “So, whether the league decides to do the right thing, whether he gets another pass, that’s up to them. … I think it’s a head shot, but we’ll see what happens.”
Canadiens coach and ex-Ranger Martin St. Louis also weighed in.
“When I saw the replay I found the principal point of contact was the head,” he said.
The 30-year-old Trouba, who was the subject of offseason trade rumors, was fined $5,000 by the NHL for a high elbow on the Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues during overtime in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final in May.
He also sparked debate about his intentions when he attempted a hit on Martin Necas in Game 2 of the second round, missing the Hurricanes forward while going flying into the boards on a play former NHLer Jordan Schmaltz described at the time as “chin hunting.”
