Ducks’ Radko Gudas slapped with 5-game ban for kneeing Auston Matthews

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended for five games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday for a knee-on-knee hit that ended Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews’s season.

The Maple Leafs announced Friday that Matthews will miss the rest of the season because of a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion suffered in their 6-4 win over Anaheim on Thursday night. He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks. The Department of Player Safety had a phone hearing with Gudas, indicating that his possible suspension wouldn’t exceed five games. Suspensions of six or more games are determined via in-person hearings.

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