A knee-on-knee collision Thursday night saw Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews leave the game due to injury and Anaheim Ducks’ Radko Gudas kicked out with a major penalty and a game misconduct.
Matthews tried to avoid Gudas as he skated through the slot in the Ducks’ zone. The Anaheim blueliner, leading with the knee, connected directly with Matthews’ left leg, sending him to the ice in pain. Matthews was helped off the ice and did not return to the game.
Referees Mitch Dunning and Tom Chmielewski issued a major penalty along with a game misconduct. Toronto scored twice on the ensuing power play.
“That’s a dirty play,” said Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube. “The league’s going to obviously look at it and see what the suspension will be or whatever happens.”
Rule 50 covers kneeing:
Kneeing is the act of a player leading with his knee and in some cases extending his leg outwards to make contact with his opponent.
50.2 Minor Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a minor penalty, based on the severity of the infraction, to a player guilty of kneeing an opponent.
50.3 Major Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the severity of the infraction, to a player guilty of kneeing an opponent. When a player has been assessed a major penalty for kneeing he shall also be assessed a Game Misconduct.
50.4 Match Penalty – The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent by kneeing.
“[Gudas has] done a few of those before in his career,” Toronto’s Mathew Knies said of the hit.
The Ducks defenseman has been suspended four times in his National Hockey League career for a total of 21 games, all while a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.
- December 2015 – 3 games – Illegal check to the head of Mika Zibanejad
- October 2016 – 6 games – Interference/Check to head of Austin Czarnik
- November 2017 – 10 games – Slashing the head/neck of Mathieu Perreault
- February 2019 – 2 games – High-sticking Nikita Kucherov
Gudas is scheduled for a phone hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Friday, which means any suspension will be five games or less. While is not considered a ‘repeat offender’ for salary purposes, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety will consider his entire disciplinary history, including fines, suspensions, and other dangerous plays.
NHL Player Safety’s most recent kneeing suspension came in 2023, when Arthur Kaliyev of the Los Angeles Kings was suspended four games (2 preseason, 2 regular season) for kneeing Chase DeLeo during a preseason game.
The Toronto Maple Leafs went on to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 6-4. Officials for the game were referees Tom Chmielewski (#18) and Mitch Dunning (#20) with Kyle Flemington (#55) and Bevan Mills (#53) on lines.
