Rangers’ Trouba fined, not suspended, for elbow
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba has been fined $5,000 for elbowing Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday.
It’s the maximum fine allowable under the NHL collective bargaining agreement. The money goes to the players’ emergency assistance fund.
Trouba has been suspended twice previously in his NHL career, getting two games for elbowing Pavel Dorofeyev of the Vegas Golden Knights in January and two games for an illegal check to the head of Mark Stone, then of the Ottawa Senators, when Trouba was playing for Winnipeg in 2017.
He has been fined three times by the NHL, including earlier this season for high-sticking Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins.
Trouba was initially given a five-minute major for elbowing at 17:32 of the second period. As Rodrigues skated around the defenseman, Trouba reached out with his elbow extended, appearing to make contact with Rodrigues’ head and back. The on-ice officials reviewed the call and lowered it to a minor penalty for elbowing.
Rule 45.3 of the NHL rulebook states: “A major penalty, at the discretion of the Referee, shall be imposed on any player who uses his elbow to illegally check an opponent. A major penalty must be imposed under this rule for an infraction resulting in an injury to the face or head of an opponent.”
Rodrigues was down on the ice after the hit and was tended to by a trainer, but returned for the ensuing Panthers power play that ended the second period. He took regular shifts in the third period.
The decision to not give Trouba a major penalty was a crucial moment in the game, which the Rangers won in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead. Trouba had already received another minor penalty for slashing at the time of the incident, giving Florida four minutes of 5-on-4 power-play time. Had he been given a major, the Panthers would have had five minutes to score an unlimited number of goals plus another two minutes of power-play time after that — seven straight minutes with the man advantage.
Florida coach Paul Maurice declined to comment on the play after Game 3. “I think I’ve got enough on my plate,” he said.
On Monday, Maurice joked about the amount of the fine.
“Take the hat, pass it around. Poor lad. Poor Jake. He won’t be able to eat,” the coach said.
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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star tight end Colston Loveland has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against No. 11 USC with an undisclosed injury.
Loveland suffered an apparent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over Arkansas State. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore hasn’t specified the nature of the injury.
A preseason All-American, Loveland leads the Wolverines with 19 catches for 187 yards; no other Michigan pass catcher has more than nine receptions.
The No. 18 Wolverines also changed starting quarterbacks this week, moving from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last weekend. He threw two picks in a 31-12 loss to Texas on Sept. 7.
Orji has only seven career passing attempts but has rushed for 58 yards in a relief role this season.
Moore said this week that he wants to see Orji “take the reins” of the Michigan offense with his opportunity.
“Excited for him,” Moore said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit.”
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
The Washington Nationals demoted All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
The 23-year-old Abrams led off for the Nationals and went 0 for 3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday’s game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals’ minor league complex.
Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.
Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season’s final week. Abrams will be arbitration-eligible this winter, entering the system for the first of four times as a Super 2.
Acquired as one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, Abrams parlayed a breakout first-half into an All-Star selection, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases over the Nationals’ first 89 games. He struggled significantly in the second half, slashing .203/.260/.326, and Abrams’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season.
Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO.
“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson defensive end Peter Woods will not play for the 21st-ranked Tigers against NC State on Saturday because of a leg injury.
The team announced Woods’ status about 90 minutes before kickoff. Woods, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, got hurt two weeks ago on a chop block below the knee in a 66-20 victory over App State. Woods came back in briefly after getting checked then missed the second half.
The Tigers were off last weekend.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has said Woods’ playing status was day-to-day. Swinney said Woods had not missed a practice. But Woods came out to the field for warmups in sneakers and sweatpants while other defensive linemen went through drills.
Woods leads the Tigers with 2½ tackles for loss.
Third-year sophomore Jahiem Lawson is listed as Woods’ backup on the depth chart.
NC State will be without starting quarterback Grayson McCall, who was hurt last week in a win over Louisiana Tech. Freshman CJ Bailey started for the Wolfpack.
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