Flyers' Gudas on suspension: 'It's a fast game and sometimes accidents happen'
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas told reporters on Thursday that he doesn't plan to alter the way he plays, one day removed from being suspended by the league for three games following his hit to the head of Ottawa Senators forward Mika Zibanejad.
"I don't want to change the style of my play, so I think I gotta play the same way," Gudas told the team's website. "Sometimes, guys are gonna put themselves in (a bad) position. It's a fast game and sometimes accidents happen."
Gudas hit Zibanejad in the face with his forearm just 2:11 into the third period on Tuesday, causing the latter to miss the rest of the contest. The 22-year-old Swede also sat out Thursday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
"By lunging upward and delivering the blow with his extended forearm instead of his shoulder or chest, Gudas makes the head the main point of contact on a hit where the head was avoidable," the NHL said in a video.
The suspension was the first in the NHL career of Gudas, who leads the Flyers with 117 hits. The 25-year-old, who has one assist in 22 games this season, has scored seven goals and set up 26 others in 148 career contests.
