PHILADELPHIA — Alain Vigneault tossed some shade in the direction of Radko Gudas following the New York Rangers’ 4-3 loss in overtime to the Flyers.
The Rangers head coach — to no surprise — wasn’t pleased with the boarding penalty by Radko Gudas that occurred in the winding minutes of the first period. Gudas was handed a game misconduct among other penalties while Vesey appeared shook up at first but eventually returned (and scored).
“I didn’t expect that big of a hit, and the next thing I knew I was face first into the glass,” Vesey explained. “I wasn’t expecting it, and got caught off guard a little bit.”
“I’ve seen that hit many times before from that player,” Vigneault said of Gudas. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Clearly, the head man is pointing at Gudas’ track record around the league. Last season, Gudas received a three-game suspension and eluded a few other suspension-potential incidents.
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This is one he may not be able to avoid. The hit looks brutal in real time, but there appears to be a little turn done by Vesey prior to the contact. Gudas was clearly making a run at Vesey and while his numbers were shown, it’s not easy stopping on a dime.
“I look at the play and it’s such a hard play for a defenseman,” said Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol. “When you’re going in with full momentum and a player pulls up, slows up, and turns, it’s a very difficult situation for a defenseman.”
The league has already issued a pair of suspensions this preseason, one to Montreal’s Andrew Shaw and the other to Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson with the latter one being the only of the two to carry over into the regular season (one game).
The Flyers have two games remaining in the preseason; there’s a chance Gudas hits the shelf for the season opener.
It was Gudas’ first game of the preseason. Prior to camp beginning, Gudas mentioned how he wasn’t going to change the way he played when asked if last year’s suspension may tone him down.
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