The Montreal Canadiens have had better Tuesday nights.
Already trailing the New York Rangers 5-2 in the third period, the Canadiens then lost a defenceman after Justin Barron was on the receiving end of a huge hit by Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.
Trouba, who is no stranger to throwing his body around, caught Barron with his head down near the boards and flattened him to the ice. No penalty was called on the play.
Barron appeared to hit his head on the ice and needed to be helped off before immediately heading into the team's dressing room.
After the game, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said that after watching a replay of the hit, he believes the principle point of contact was Barron's head.
Mike Matheson, Barron's defensive partner, took exception to the Trouba hit and dropped the gloves with the Rangers captain.
Matheson was assessed a two-minute instigator penalty and a 10-minute misconduct for the fight.
With Matheson and Barron out for the remainder of the period, the Canadiens were forced to finish the game with just four active defencemen.
Barron, 22, has one goal in six games with the Canadiens this season. In 2023-24, he had seven goals and six assists in 48 games.
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