Columbus Blue Jackets' Erik Gudbranson 'happy my legs work' after hit by Nick Cousins

Receiving only a one-game suspension for his retaliatory actions against Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins isn’t what makes Erik Gudbranson feel fortunate.

His suspension could’ve been longer for pummeling the fallen Cousins during the Panthers’ 5-2 victory Sunday at Nationwide Arena, but the biggest stroke of luck for the Blue Jackets defenseman was maintaining full use of his body after being sent face first into the end boards at a ferocious force.

“That was just … fight or flight,” Gudbranson said Tuesday. “That’s what that was for me. You know, my kids are 85 feet away from that hit (in the crowd). You know what I mean?”

Gudbranson’s wife, Sarah, and two small children saw the whole thing. Gudbranson’s impact with the boards behind the Blue Jackets’ net sent a sickening thud throughout the building that was audible from the arena’s highest points. It reverberated even louder where his family was seated.

Cousins, who shouldered Gudbranson into the boards from behind, received a two-minute minor penalty for boarding. He didn't have a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety, like Gudbranson did. He wasn't suspended or fined. Gudbranson, meanwhile, will miss the Jackets’ game Thursday in Toronto and cough up one $20,833.33 pay check to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

“It’s a terrible hit,” he said. “You know, I was walking around, pacing through my hallway, trying to calm down back at home (Sunday night), and just, like, happy that my legs still work. Like, that’s the level of danger that was involved with that.”

Gudbranson said Cousins hasn’t contacted him to issue an apology or explanation. Cousins isn’t alone in delivering that type of hit either.

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane plastered Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin from behind last Friday, and the next day former Blue Jackets forward Eric Robinson ― traded last week to the Buffalo Sabres ― delivered another while facing the Montreal Canadiens.

Kane wasn’t penalized, Robinson drew a boarding major plus a game misconduct and Cousins had his boarding major reduced to a minor after a video review. Even Gudbranson was suspended for a game in 2017 after smashing former Boston Bruins forward Frank Vatrano into the end boards while playing for the Vancouver Canucks.

Prior to this suspension, however, that was Gudbranson’s lone punishment from the league. Asked how these types of hits can be reduced or eliminated, Gudbranson focused on one primary topic.

“That's a respect thing,” he said. “That’s a ‘respect’ thing amongst peers in this league. That’s what it is. I’ll leave it at that. It’s a ‘respect’ thing that, you know, some guys in this league understand and some guys never will.”

That’s part of the reason Gudbranson scrambled to his feet as quickly as he did, pushed Cousins into the glass and proceeded to boil until getting a second run at the Panthers’ forward about six minutes later. After throwing Cousins to the ice, Gudbranson threw at least five punches at the forward’s head while he “turtled” for protection.

Gudbranson still needed to restrain his words two days later.

“It was a bad hit, you know?” he said. “If that hit takes place three feet before that, I end up going down and bending my neck down, and that’s where (you can get) a compression fracture and who knows how the rest of your life is?”

Cousins declining to fight Gudbranson was another sore spot.

“We’re two very different people,” he said.

Gudbranson’s biggest injury is a cut across the bridge of his nose. He also has some lingering “aches and pains,” that make him feel like he’s been in a car accident. Otherwise, his body is working properly while his mind works overtime at home.

“There’s no doubt about it, that (it) freaked me out,” Gudbranson said. “No doubt about it, but you never bring that on the ice. That’s what puts you in even more danger, so you never bring that. But, you know, sometimes sitting on the couch, through (your) life, that can pop to mind, for sure.”

As for carrying his grudge into the Jacket's final game this season against the Panthers on April 11 in Sunrise, Florida, he said the goal will be getting a victory on the scoreboard.

"I’m good," he said. "I'm fine with it. I did what I felt was necessary and I'm good with that. We've lost two (games) to them now and we desperately want to go win one, take two points from them. That’s first and foremost by like a country mile.”

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gudbranson feels fortunate to escape bad hit without serious injury