Tampa Bay defenseman Radko Gudas doesn’t have a disciplinary hearing scheduled for his high hit on Florida’s Scottie Upshall on Thursday night, a NHL spokesman has confirmed.
Here’s the incident in question:
Gudas wasn’t penalized on the play (“The ref obviously said he didn’t see it,’' Upshall told the Florida Sun-Sentinel). Upshall was shaken up for a bit, but returned to finish the game and log over six minutes of ice time in the third period.
Per the Miami Herald, this isn’t the first time Gudas and Upshall have crossed paths:#TBLightning Radko Gudas and #FlaPanthers Scottie Upshall have a history; Upshall squirted him w/ blue Gatorade in 2013.
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) October 10, 2014More, regarding that same incident:
Tampa Bay’s Radko Gudas was kicked out of Sunday’s game after he hit the ice in front of the Florida bench and then smashed his stick up against the bench area nearly striking both Nick Bjugstad and Scottie Upshall.
Upshall was the obvious target.
Why was Gudas so mad?
Because Upshall squirted him with Gatorade -- blue, Upshall confirmed -- while Gudas was down on the ice.
“He overreacted a bit,’' said Upshall, who was hit with a bench penalty for the dousing. “He’s a guy who plays a bit on the edge. He plays hard and he was fired up, took a run at our guy by the bench and fell. I think he was embarrassed he fell. You would think it was the end of the world. He was freaked out.”
Regarding suspension, it’s worth noting that the NHL still has time to schedule a hearing with Gudas. The Lightning don’t play again until Saturday, when they host the Senators.