Florida Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson was ejected from last night’s 3-2 shootout victory after delivering a crushing blow to Washington’s Eric Fehr in the second period.
Forward Troy Brouwer immediately fought Gudbranson over the incident and once that scrap was over, the 21-year-old blueliner was handed a match penalty. It looks like he won’t face any further discipline though, reports Sportsnet’s John Shannon.
There were questions raised as to whether or not Gudbranson should be suspended, given that he appeared to hit Fehr’s head, but Panthers coach Peter Horachek strongly disagrees with that assessment.
“It was directly his shoulder that hit [Fehr] in the chest first and the follow through might hit him on the chin as it’s going through, but it’s straight on,” Horachek said, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
As for Fehr, he temporarily left the game, but returned for the third period.
“I don’t know what his intent was exactly, I haven’t seen the replay so I’m not going to comment on that. It didn’t feel good,” Fehr told the Washington Post. “That was a close call, definitely. It definitely stung me. I think I dodged a bullet there.”
If you want to view the hit for yourself and the fight that followed, you can do so below: