OTTAWA, Ontario – The Rangers will be without their captain, Jacob Trouba, for the next two games.
Trouba was suspended after having a phone hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Saturday for an elbow he threw on Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss at the Garden Friday night.
The play was not penalized during the game.
“That’s a big piece on our backend,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of losing Trouba, who has three goals and 16 assists through 48 games. “His leadership, his defense, his physicality. Plays against other teams top lines. That’s a piece that is missing. An opportunity for others to step up.
“We’ll certainly miss him tonight [against Ottawa], but he’ll be back in a couple games.”
As a result, Zac Jones drew back into the lineup for the first time since Jan. 20 and just the third time in the last 21 games. Jones lined up alongside Erik Gustafsson, while K’Andre Miller skated next to Braden Schneider.
Ryan Lindgren, who was knocked out of Friday night’s game in the first period following a hit into the boards by Vegas wing Keegan Kolesar, was considered to be a game-time decision on Friday. Despite taking the ice for warmups, Lindgren ultimately didn’t play and Connor Mackey got the call.
Mackey replaced Lindgren on the left side of Adam Fox in his Rangers debut, which also counted as his first NHL game since April 13, 2023.
Trouba has been fined twice since he joined the Rangers ahead of the 2019-20 season. After he was fined $5,000 – the maximum amount under the collective bargaining agreement – for slashing the then-Blues defenseman Vince Dunn on Jan. 12, 2020, Trouba was fined the same amount for high-sticking the Bruins’ Trent Frederic on Nov. 25, 2023.
In 2017 with the Jets, Trouba was suspended two games and fined $33,333 for an illegal check to the head of then-Senators forward Mark Stone.
After notching his 28th assist of the season on Friday, Fox surpassed Bill Gadsby for the ninth most points among defensemen in Rangers history (271).
The Rangers’ All-Star break begins on Sunday. While Igor Shesterkin and Vincent Trocheck are participating in the NHL’S All-Star weekend activities in Toronto, the rest of the team will have a few days off before returning to practice. They’ll kick off the final 33 games of the season with two home contests against the Avalanche and Lightening on Feb. 5 and Feb. 7, respectively.
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