Trouba was issued a two-minute minor for elbowing by officials during Game 3

The NHL Department of Player Safety has spoken.

League officials may not have deemed New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s elbow to the head of Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues worthy of a five-minute major, but the NHL DOPS seems to have a different view.

On Monday, the DOPS announced it was fining Trouba $5,000, which is the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for the illegal elbow.

The play happened during the second period of Sunday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Trouba had already been called for a slashing penalty, though play continued on the delayed call, and Florida was pushing for a scoring opportunity.

Rodrigues carried the puck through the Rangers zone and cut to the middle of the ice. He made a quick move around Trouba, and the defenseman reached out with an elbow and struck Rodrigues in the side of his head.

After a video review, officials deemed the penalty a two-minute minor for elbowing.

According to rule 45.3 of the NHL rulebook, "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."

It’s also worth noting that Trouba would be considered a repeat offender, having been suspended twice during his career, and he’s now been fined three times.

After the game, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice was asked about the elbow, but appeared to hold back from giving any kind of honest opinion.

“I think I’ve got enough on my plate, I’m not going to do any refereeing or player safety tonight," Maurice said. "I'll just stick with the coaching."

The Rangers lead the series 2-1 following their 5-4 overtime victory on Sunday.

Game 4 is set for Tuesday at 8 p.m. from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. 

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