New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba nearly connected on a vicious hit Tuesday night during Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.
During the first overtime of the Rangers’ 4–3 win, Trouba tried to lay a violent check on Carolina center Martin Necas near the boards. Necas ducked out of the way at the last second, narrowly avoiding Trouba’s elbow.
Trouba went flying into the boards head first, and as he came down, his right leg landed on Necas’s head. Both players were O.K. and continued to play after the collision.
Trouba is known to throw around big hits on the ice—and sometimes they are rather dangerous. He has been suspended several times over his 11-year career, including a two-game penalty earlier this season for elbowing Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev in the head.
NHL fans weighed in on the wild near-collision Tuesday night:
Trouba and the Rangers exited Game 2 with a win, handing the Hurricanes a 2–0 series deficit on Vincent Trocheck’s power-play goal at the 7:24 mark of the second overtime.
The teams will match up once again Thursday for Game 3 at PNC Arena.
