The NHL Department of Player Safety on Wednesday suspended defenseman Radko Gudas for three games, after a hit to the head of Ottawa's Mika Zibanejad in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Senators.
Zibanejad was injured on the play and left the game, which factored into the suspension. However, Gudas has never once been suspended or fined in his four NHL seasons, so the decision to suspend him for three games is a puzzling one. The hit occurred at 2:07 of the third period, and no penalty was called on the play.
With 118 hits this season, Gudas is second in the NHL — trailing the New York Islanders' Matt Martin (127). His physical play endeared himself partially to Flyers fans so far this season, and he has one assist and a minus-1 rating in 22 games.
As a result of the suspension, Gudas will miss Friday's game against New Jersey, Saturday's game against Columbus and next Tuesday's game against the Islanders. He will forfeit $15,994.62 in salary.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
