The Toronto Maple Leafs will get a chance to avenge their captain.
Radko Gudas will suit up on Monday night for the Anaheim Ducks in their rematch with the Maple Leafs (Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet+, 10 p.m. ET) after ending Auston Matthews' season early.
Gudas confirmed he'd be in the lineup to reporters following Monday morning's skate, telling reporters, "I want to stand behind my own mistakes."
Gudas' knee-on-knee hit on Matthews on March 12 resulted in a Grade 3 MCL tear for Toronto's star that required surgery.
Gudas, who is the Ducks' captain, was suspended for five games for the play, a ruling that raised eyebrows across the league.
The veteran defenceman missed Anaheim's game on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers due to injury and was seen in a walking boot before the game, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
But despite the injury, Gudas had made it clear his intention was to return to the ice against the Maple Leafs "no matter what," Friedman reported during the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.
"Whether you call it the code, or you call it the sportsman's way of doing things, he recognizes that the Maple Leafs want a piece of him, and he wants to play," Friedman said.
In 54 games this season, the Czech has two goals, 11 assists and 45 penalty minutes.
