Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Erik Gudbranson says he's grateful that he is still able to walk after the hit from behind that Florida's Nick Cousins laid on him in a game on Sunday, according to Jeff Svoboda of BlueJackets.com.
"My kids are 85 feet away from that hit, you know what I mean?" Gudbranson, 31, told Svododa. "It's a terrible hit, I was walking around, pacing through my hallway trying to calm down back at home, just happy that my legs still work. That's the level of danger that was involved with that."
The Ottawa-born Gudbranson said he felt like he'd been in a car accident after the hit, which occurred in the first minute of the third period of Sunday's eventual 5-2 loss to the Panthers. The veteran rearguard had his face driven into the boards on the play, but after a moment of being prone on the ice, his anger prompted him to jump up and attempt to engage Cousins in a fight. The Florida forward would not reciprocate.
Cousins was initially assessed a major penalty for boarding, but that was changed after a review to a minor penalty. Gudbranson was also assessed a roughing minor.
When Gudbranson attempted to engage Cousins again, about six minutes later, he wound up being assessed 27 minutes in penalties (two 10-minute misconducts, a fighting major, and an instigator penalty), while Cousins again refused to fight.
On Monday, Gudbranson was handed a one-game suspension by the league for that altercation.
"The rule is the rule, and I got one game for it," he said on Tuesday. "Just take it and move on."
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