Capitals winger gives his honest opinion on potentially brawling with Jacob Trouba

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Dec 10, 2023 15:13 GMT

Jacob Trouba took center stage in the recent clash between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers, where attention shifted not only to on-ice actions but also to the candid remarks of Capitals winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel regarding a potential altercation with Trouba.

When asked about the altercation, Aube-Kubel explained that the scuffle arose from a hard check near the bench. Trouba, sizing up Aube-Kubel for a fight, received an enthusiastic response. Aube-Kubel, acknowledging Jacob Trouba's size advantage, humorously mentioned that his teammate Jimmy Vesey might be a more suitable match due to similar sizes.

Reporter asked:

"You don't fight a ton. Jimmy Vesey doesn't fight a ton. What sparked that?"

Nicolas Aube-Kubel replied:

"I think I hit him close to the bench and maybe he’d turned and hit his face to the board. Yeah, I wasn't sure. I just finished a check and it was hard and coming down my end, Trouba asked me to fight, and I was like, yeah! But uh… A bit big. I mean Vesey is more my size, so you gotta accept that."

Aube-Kubel, a Canadian right winger, plays for the Washington Capitals after being drafted in 2014 by the Philadelphia Flyers. Jacob Trouba, the American defenseman and captain of the New York Rangers, was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

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Aube-Kubel and the Capitals 4-0 victory over the Rangers and Jacob Trouba

In the game itself, the Capitals secured a decisive 4-0 victory over the Rangers, breaking a three-game losing streak. Charlie Lindgren, the Capitals' goaltender, played a pivotal role with 31 saves, earning his second shutout of the season.

Sonny Milano, Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel all contributed goals, helping the Capitals move into third place in the Metropolitan Division. The win held special significance as it marked the return of former Capitals coach Peter Laviolette with his new team, the Rangers.

"It was not good from the start to the finish, so no sense dissecting it here publicly," Laviolette said. "We’ve got a game tomorrow night, and we’ll need to be a lot better."

Meanwhile, Jacob Trouba, the Rangers' captain, called for a return to a fighting attitude and aggression in their gameplay.

"I think it's something we had early on is kind of that competitiveness and a little bit of the edge, that separation maybe, I think that's gotten a little complacent," Trouba said. "Maybe let off the gas a little bit, and that's something we're going to find out. We can't win that way, so we've got to get back to that fighting attitude, a little bit of anger in our game."