Rangers player Jacob Trouba fined but not given probation after elbow strike in Game 3

New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba was fined $5,000 for elbowing Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday.

This is the maximum penalty allowed under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. The money goes into the players’ emergency fund.

Trouba has already been suspended twice in his NHL career: two games for elbowing Pavel Dorofeyev of the Vegas Golden Knights in January and two games for an illegal check to the head of Mark Stone, then of the Ottawa Senators, when Trouba played for Winnipeg in 2017.

He has been fined three times by the NHL, including earlier this season for high-sticking Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins.

Trouba was initially assessed a five-minute penalty for elbowing at 17:32 of the second period. As Rodrigues skated around the defenseman, Trouba extended his elbow, appearing to touch Rodrigues’ head and back. On-ice officials reviewed the call and reduced it to a minor penalty for elbowing.

Rule 45.3 of the NHL Rulebook states: “A major penalty shall be assessed, at the discretion of the Referee, to any player who uses his elbow to illegally check an opponent. Under this Rule, a major penalty shall be assessed for a violation that results in injury to the face or head of an opponent.”

Rodrigues lay on the ice after the hit and was tended to by a trainer, but returned for the Panthers’ ensuing power play that ended the second period and returned to his usual duties in the third period.

The decision not to give Trouba a major penalty was a crucial moment in the game, which the Rangers won in overtime to take a 2-1 lead. Trouba had already received another minor penalty for stick-swinging at the time of the incident, which earned Florida four minutes of 5-on-4 power play. Had he received a major penalty, the Panthers would have had five minutes to score an unlimited number of goals, plus two more minutes of power play time after that – seven minutes on the power play.

Florida coach Paul Maurice declined to comment on the game after Game 3. “I think I have enough on my plate,” he said.

On Monday, Maurice joked about the amount of the fine.

“Take the hat and pass it around. Poor boy. Poor Jake. He won’t be able to eat,” said the coach.