Martin Necas didn’t seem to share the excitement of others who made the play go viral on social media as Jacob Trouba flew through the air on an attempted hit during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round.
The incident in question happened during Tuesday’s 4-3 double-OT victory over the Carolina Hurricanes by the New York Rangers in the first overtime. When Necas pulled up and dipped under Trouba, the Rangers captain, instead of lining up the Hurricanes forward with the intention of making a powerful hit, went flying into the glass.Before Game 3, are the Rangers and Hurricanes still at odds?
It was immediately apparent that Necas was not pleased. He spoke about what had happened with greater matter-of-factness on Wednesday.
Necas said, “I didn’t even see what happened in the moment.” “I saw it on the post-game replay. It’s just, whatever. Well done, he struck the boards with his head first. It’s a good thing I avoided the blow since things probably wouldn’t have worked out well, but I’m okay now.
Fans of Trouba on social media had a field day sharing footage of him landing hard on the glass and flying through the air. Additionally, a number of memes were inspired by the play.
Tuesday’s intense match between two of the League’s top teams featured a near-crushing hit. After Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was tripped by Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov behind the net during the first period, Matt Rempe made sure to gently nudge into Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen upon the whistle. This almost caused a brawl.
During the heated game, there were several exchanges of expletives, including one that was broadcast on ESPN involving Tony DeAngelo and K’Andre Miller, two former Rangers teammates. All night long, Vincent Trocheck and Jake Guentzel were squabbling, with a humorous exchange occurring when Trocheck gave Guentzel the thumbs up while he was seated in the penalty box following his punching of Adam Fox to thwart a Hurricanes power play. DeAngelo was given a minor penalty earlier for hitting Will Cuylle quite hard.
Trouba, for his part, had a busy evening. With three minor penalties, nine blocked shots, six hits, and 26:06 of ice time, he led all skaters. Necas, the goal scorer from Game 1, played 25:06 in Game 2 and had three shots on goal and eleven attempts at goal.
With a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series, the Rangers will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday to play Game 3.
