Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers is once again at the center of a contentious hit, this time involving Montreal Canadiens defenceman Justin Barron during their game on Tuesday night. While some commentators argue that the hit was clean and consistent with NHL guidelines for acceptable checks, others question its integrity, citing Trouba’s past and his tendency for hard hits.
During the game on October 22, Barron was skating down the left side with the puck when he appeared to be attempting a pass near the Rangers’ blue line. At that moment, Trouba charged in and struck Barron in the chest with considerable force. The Rangers were leading 5-2 midway through the third period when the hit resulted in a brawl between Trouba and Mike Matheson, who intervened to defend his teammate.
Barron lay on the ice near the Rangers’ blue line and required assistance from Canadiens training staff to leave the rink, after which he was ruled out for the rest of the game and taken to the locker room.
As a result of the altercation, Matheson received a two-minute instigator penalty, a 10-minute misconduct penalty, and a five-minute major for fighting, leaving the Canadiens short-handed without both Barron and Matheson for the remainder of the match.
Regarding Barron’s condition, there was no immediate update after the game; however, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis noted that he believed the primary point of contact was Barron’s head and stated that there were no further updates on his status at that moment. Barron has scored 13 goals and accumulated 31 points in 101 games for the Canadiens over parts of five seasons, having been the 25th overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2020.
