"Aiming to kill him, what a dirty player" - NHL fans react to Jacob Trouba's missed hit on Martin Necas

Jacob Trouba's attempted hit on Martin Necas in Game 2 of the NHL playoff series between the Rangers and the Hurricanes took social media by storm. With the Rangers leading the series 1-0, tensions were high in overtime as the Rangers captain looked to drill Necas into the boards with a heavy hit.

Trouba threw himself at Necas with great force and speed but Necas' awareness allowed him to duck out of the way, forcing Trouba to go face-first into the boards. Trouba had extended his elbow͏ going into the forward motion, which just missed Necas' head. As the Rangers captain was coming down, his skate blade hit Necas' helmet, but the Canes forward averted any major injury.

Here's the clip of Trouba's attempted hit on Necas:

The NHL community poured in their reactions on X (previously Twitter). One fan said,

"So thankful Necas slipped man Trouba was aiming to kill him man. What a dirty player."

Another pointed out that there's no severe action taken on such intended hits:

"It’s actually such a shame they don’t do severe punishments for clear intent. He should have a suspension hearing based off what could have happened here."

Some fans accused Jacob Trouba of dirty play:

"That was dirty how he flared that elbow at buddy's melon. Attempted murder. Dirty," one fan said

"Bro tried his hardest to throw a dirty check he's just a little special," another fan chimed in

"That skate was so dangerous," one fan reacted

"Guy is dirty! Cheapshot artist!" another fan commented

Some fans pointed out Trouba's apparent intent to elbow Necas, raising concerns about the potential danger posed by such actions.

"If Trouba catches him with that elbow, it would've been a life changing event for both of them," one fan said

"Holy elbow from hell attempt," another one commented

Since no clear contact was made on the play, Trouba was not handed any penalty.

Earlier in the game, Trouba slammed Seth Jarvis into the boards, moments after the latter rose from being boarded by Kris Kreider. While the whistle had not blown, concerns arose regarding the hit's legality and potential for being high.

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Jacob Trouba's penalty nearly haunts Rangers in OT win over Hurricanes

Alexis Lafrenière opened the scoring for the Rangers at 10:53 with a snap shot. Jake Guentzel swiftly equalized for the Hurricanes at 15:07 with a tip-in. Dmitry Orlov gave Carolina the lead late in the first period with a tip-in.

In the second period, Lafreniere struck again, at 07:32, with a tip-in to level the scores. However, Guentzel put the Hurricanes ahead at 18:18 with a slap shot. Chris Kreider tied it up for the Rangers on a power play in the third period at 06:07 with a wrist shot.

In the first overtime, Jacob Trouba's penalty handed the Hurricanes a crucial advantage, but the game remained tied 3-3, heading into second overtime, where the Rangers found the winner to take a 2-0 series lead.