Boston Bruins: Radko Gudas Suspended For Hit On Austin Czarnik
Boston Bruins prospect Austin Czarnik was hit hard in the B’s last preseason game causing a concussion. He was expected to make the opening night roster.
When the Boston Bruins played the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the Bruins had pretty much put together their opening night roster. Forward Austin Czarnik had played so well he was expected to center the Bruins third line on opening night.
Czarnik’s solid play gave the Boston Bruins the opportunity to try new things with their forwards. Bruins head coach Claude Julien began to tinker with the lines. That tinkering led Julien to center up the second line of David Krejci. The Bruins chose to put two natural centers on the wings with him.
David Backes and Ryan Spooner have done well on the Bruins second line. A one-time feed from Backes gave Spooner an opportunity on a breakaway to win the game against the Flyers in overtime, giving the Black and Gold their fourth and final win of the 2016-17 preseason.
Gudas makes a clear late hit on the young Bruins forward. The Czech defenseman puts his shoulder into the face of Czarnik. Czarnik went down hard, and needed a little help to get back to the dressing room. The 23-year old Czarnik was later diagnosed with a concussion.
The Boston Bruins now have to run the gauntlet of concussion protocols with Czarnik. expected time table for his return is between 8-10 days. It’s now highly doubtful that the Bruins forward will be able to participate in Thursday night’s season opener in Columbus.
On the terms of the most recent collective bargaining agreement, Gudas is considered a repeat offender. (He got away scot-free after putting a similar hit on Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey earlier in the preseason.) That was part of the reason for his six game punishment. His hit on Czarnik will cost him $245,121.96 of his salary. (That’s a rather costly moment of stupidity.)
More from Causeway Crowd
This article originally appeared on 
