While Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan is unimpressed by Jacob Trouba’s blow to Sidney Crosby on Wednesday, we will have to see if the author of the sequence will be punished by the National Hockey League. (NHL).
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Having missed numerous games earlier in his career due to concussions, the Pens captain was unable to finish Game 5 of the series against the New York Rangers. Halfway through the second period, he received an elbow from his rival in the face and retired to the locker room after his last appearance on the ice with about seven minutes left in the engagement. Thursday morning, Sullivan said his protege will be assessed for an upper body injury.
Trouba is known for his hard hitting shots. This season, he has shaken Jujhar Khaira (of the Chicago Blackhawks), who has also visited the hospital, and Nathan MacKinnon (of the Colorado Avalanche), without however being suspended. However, the scenario could be different in this case, as the series prepares to return to Pittsburgh, site of the sixth Rangers-Penguins matchup.
While commentary in newspaper articles has been sparse among the “Blueshirts” regarding the game in question, on the Penguins side, the rage was rather poorly concealed. “Did you see the shot? You probably have the same opinion as me,” Sullivan told the media.
“We never want to see a player like him leave, but we have to find a way to win,” said forward Jake Guentzel. He’s the best hockey player in the world. There are a lot of playing minutes that the other guys have to take. It’s up to the rest of the group to take over.”
Indeed, there is cause for concern at the Penguins. Struggling with severe headaches among other things, the number 87 had missed the second half of the 2010-2011 campaign and the majority of the subsequent season following two contacts cashed in a short time at the start of the calendar year. 2011.
Still hope in New York
In the New York camp, everyone still believes in their chances of completing the comeback after closing the gap to 3 to 2 in the series.
“We have confidence in our group. We were down 3-1, but I don’t think we played that badly, said Alexis Lafrenière, who scored a goal and an assist on Wednesday. We’re having fun, but you have to work hard with each sequence on the ice. Every presence in the game counts, that’s what makes it fun.”
For Gallant, it is above all a question of not giving up: the Rangers understood this well by scoring three times in 2 min 42 s in the second engagement to come back from behind.
“We were competitive like never before and that’s what we wanted,” said head instructor Gerard Gallant. Be in the game, win one-on-one battles and play hard. We found ourselves behind 2-0, but we continued to play solidly and we turned the tide.
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