ST. LOUIS — The Toronto Maple Leafs have had their upcoming game against the Anaheim Ducks marked on their calendar ever since the two teams first met this season on March 12. That’s when Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas extended his knee into Auston Matthews, ending the Maple Leafs’ captain’s season with a dangerous knee-on-knee hit.
“We’ll see ‘em in a couple of weeks,” Max Domi said in the days after the hit.
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Now comes word that Gudas may not play in that game. On Thursday, the defenseman sustained a lower-body injury in a game against the Calgary Flames and was seen leaving Scotiabank Saddledome in a walking boot. He did not participate in Anaheim’s 4-2 loss to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Gudas wants to play against the Maple Leafs on Monday no matter what, but the final decision may not come down to him if the club’s medical staff doesn’t clear him. Gudas understands the scrutiny that comes with avoiding a game where he is sure to be a target of retribution by many Maple Leafs for the hit on Matthews.
The Leafs were criticized for their lack of immediate response to the hit at the time.
“It’s obviously a game that means a lot for our side, so we’ll be pretty fired up,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said following his club’s listless 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Saturday.
The Leafs looked like a team lacking motivation against the Blues, with Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube calling out every one of his skaters for their lack of compete. The loss moved Toronto to the fifth-worst record via points percentage in the NHL (.507). That’s good news for the club’s chances at possibly retaining their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, which is top-five protected following the trade that acquired defenseman Brandon Carlo.
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With eight games to go, it’s evident that the Leafs look like a team that is just going through the motions, waiting for this season to be over. Any juice going into a game, like retribution against the Ducks, will at least help in making these games interesting for the Maple Leafs. Even if Gudas doesn’t play, there will probably be many fights in the game.
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It’ll be interesting to see if things get out of hand. The Ducks lead the Pacific Division with a 41-28-4 record, and the Leafs really have little to lose if they run roughshod at Honda Center on Monday.
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“You can’t go out and do stupid things—suspensions and things like that,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube warned. “That’s not what it’s all about. But we definitely have to go out and play a physical, hard game against that team”.
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