Why Jacob Trouba escaped with no discipline for the Sidney Crosby hit

Hockey is better with Sidney Crosby playing it. He’s one of the greatest players of all-time. No one wants to see him hurt, and it’s especially crushing when it’s a blow to the head that sidelines him. It calls back bad memories of Crosby’s “What could have been” prime roughly a decade ago when, as he reached his peak statistical dominance, multiple concussions threatened his career.

But we can be upset about the injury Crosby suffered Wednesday night in his Pittsburgh Penguins’ Game 5 loss to the New York Rangers – and accept that it came on a play that didn’t warrant supplemental discipline. It’s OK for both to be true.

Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba is a punishing 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds. He’s one of the best open-ice hitters in the game today. When he hits through an opponent, he does major damage. But that reputation arguably provides hints as to why he did not receive a hearing or any supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety.

First, here’s an example of a typical open-ice hit from Trouba this past December. He hammers Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon with perfectly executed body check to the sternum area. Note the followthrough on the impact. He throws all his weight into MacKinnon. Trouba also maintains his balance. He’s in control of his body because he’s executing a deliberate play.

Now, a look at the play in question from Game 5 Wednesday, in which Trouba’s elbow catches Crosby:

A tweet thread from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli partially explains why Trouba was acquitted. He’s playing the puck. There is no aiming or targeting of the elbow, which is an important criterion when the league looks for violations of Rule 48.1 for illegal check to the head. It’s the tangling of his stick with Crosby that pops up Trouba’s elbow inadvertently.

A few other items to note in the footage:

(a) Trouba’s momentum stops as soon as he makes contact with Crosby. Trouba’s skates pivot as if he’s trying to slow himself down.

(b) Trouba leans forward, trying to keep his balance, which, again, is something you do when you halt your progress suddenly to stop something from happening, like when you’re playing baseball and trying to keep your foot on the base to avoid getting tagged.

(c) Ever see a properly dirty elbow thrown before in the NHL? It’s delivered with a forearm facing up. Trouba’s is facing down as he hits Crosby, arm twisted the opposite way, which is something that happens when your elbow isn’t moving where you want to move it. It supports the theory that the stick made the elbow move.

When we consider Trouba’s history as a devastating textbook hitter and the fact his momentum changed and slowed immediately upon hitting Crosby, it makes sense that the DOPS viewed the hit as accidental rather than dirty.

We don’t have to like that it happened. No one wants to see Crosby take a headshot. But hockey is a contact sport. Sometimes injuries happen because of unlucky circumstances.