Jacob Trouba Suspended 2 Games for Illegal Check to the Head on Mark Stone

The NHL suspended Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba two games for his hit on Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone in Winnipeg's 3-2 win Sunday, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Monday.

In a video explaining the punishment, the department argued Trouba illegally targeted Stone's head:

"It’s a clear hit to the head with the shoulder," Senators coach Guy Boucher said of the play, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "It’s one of the best players in the league, so, I mean, I think everybody saw the same thing."

Both TSN 1290's Jim Toth and TSN's Gary Lawless contrasted the league's handling of Trouba's hit with its response to a similar check by Evgeni Malkin on Mark Wheeler:

The Pittsburgh Penguins star hit Jets forward Blake Wheeler high during the Jets' 4-3 overtime loss last Thursday. The NHL declined to hold a hearing on any retroactive punishment for Malkin. 

Winnipeg has two more games to close out February. It faces off with the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night and then takes on the Minnesota Wild a week later. The Winnipeg Free Press' Jeff Hamilton believes Trouba's absence exacerbates the team's current situation:

The Jets sit a point back of the Calgary Flames, who have played three fewer games, for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Although there's still over a month left in the regular season, Winnipeg can ill afford to drop too many points while Trouba is out.

Trouba's punishment arguably fits the crime, but Jets fans are right to be critical of the NHL opting against levying a similar suspension toward Malkin.