When you’re the subject of trade rumors to the same degree as Jacob Trouba, nobody knows what to expect from you during the season’s early stages. But it’s been so far, so good for Trouba, and there’s no reason to believe his dominance won’t continue tonight when the NY Rangers face the Detroit Red Wings.
While the Wings have had a rough time finding the net, they also haven’t been effective in preventing big plays from occurring this season, and such play foreshadows another outstanding outing from Trouba.
If you’re just now tuning into Rangers hockey, know that Trouba, while he has yet to find the net and score, produced at least one point in each game he’s played. That gives him four assists on the season, and I would expect at least another, if not more, if the Wings continue to have problems defensively.
But we can’t just attribute Trouba’s success to his pure ability and consistency, even if that plays a significant role. He’s also part of one of the NHL’s best locker rooms whose forwards have proven to be championship-caliber in the early-going this season, with perhaps another name joining the mix.
Jacob Trouba should enjoy another monster game against Red Wings
If Trouba can help lead the Rangers to yet another win, they’ll continue to keep pace with the upstart New Jersey Devils, who look like front-runners at the moment. That said, playing seemingly mediocre teams like the Red Wings well is a prerequisite for staying in the division race early, and no, it’s never too early to say that.
Thankfully for Rangers fans, Trouba understands the assignment and has been the Blueshirts most lights-out blueliner along with Adam Fox, who has three points in as many games. Trouba is also second on the team in blocked shots, behind only K’Andre Miller, and he also owns a plus-1 rating heading into tonight’s matchup.
Considering how poorly the Red Wings have fared on both sides of the ice so far in 2024-25, don’t be surprised if Trouba snags another few blocks by the time this one is over. And if he pitches in on another goal or two, he’ll remain well on pace for an 80-plus-point season.
Fans may not have known what to expect from Trouba before the season began because trade rumors can be damaging to a player’s relationship with the organization. If the latter is the case, Trouba and everyone in the Rangers front office are doing a good job not letting anyone outside the franchise know about it.