Gudas will contribute more to the Panthers’ title run than just a big beard, physicality

Sunrise, Fla. The most prominent Radko Gudas His is his scruffy beard and his amazing beard. Florida Panthers coach Paul Morris said the connection is there.

“Radko’s beard is part of his hitting,” Morris said of the 33-year-old defenseman. “The weight is tied to the beard. The beard weighs 103 pounds. I’m not even sure if that’s legal. There’s probably a chance the inspectors can fit it in the beard now.”

Joking aside, Gudas is enjoying his beard in full force — and the longer it’s grown — because he’s playing in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time. The Panthers trail the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 entering Game 4 at FLA Live Arena Saturday, hoping to extend the Panthers’ lead a little longer (8 p.m. ET: TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS), but things on Thursday They are looking forward to their 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3.

“The reasons are the only reason I’m happy now,” Gudas said of his beard length. “I usually cut it a little bit, it gets in the way of eating. That’s definitely not what you want, but it’s for the sake of a bigger goal.”

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Gudas’ beard probably shouldn’t be classified as a Stanley Cup Playoff beard because he wears one throughout the season and usually has some facial hair.

“I haven’t shaved completely in years,” he said.

Gudas briefly went beardless early last summer, but has kept his beard. The decision was influenced by his three children – son Kvido and daughters Leontynka and Elvira.

“I loved doing that,” Gudas said. “I got a beard, and the kids wanted to get a little involved in shaving, so it felt like more of a family decision than my decision.”

Every time Gudas shaves (he first shaved when he was in the seventh grade), his beard grows back quickly. But the 103-pound Beard weighs about half of its listed 208-pound weight.

Morris joked that while it may not have played a role in Gudas’ effectiveness, his impact on his physical play is undeniable.

Gudas is second in the league with 312 in the regular season and leads the NHL with 83 in the playoffs. Luke Shanewhich was 318.

“You talk about the glues and he’s one of those guys that goes under the radar,” said Florida radio analyst and former Panthers forward Bill Lindsey. “He’s very important in that dressing room and you can tell he’s one of the things that brings him together with the management. So he’s got a beard, and he’s got a presence.”

That presence was welcomed in Florida in Game 3 after a 7-2 first period loss in Game 2 after Gus left with an injury sustained in a hit to the front of Vegas. Ivan Barbashev. Gudas said he felt “great” Friday and the Game 3 win helped him feel better.

“It was a great team effort, a great team win, so that always helps [soothe] “So I’m going to take the positives with me today and the coaches are working with me, so I’m feeling great.”

Although the Panthers’ focus in Game 3 was on their hitting and defensive structure — going from 44 plays in Game 2 to 14 — Gudas still scored two goals and played his usual strong defensive game alongside teammate Josh Mahura.

“We still played physical,” Gudas said. “We still had a lot of bumps on them.” Maybe not as strong as before, but they were still very strong, you know. We are trying to stay as physical as possible throughout the game, so this is not the case. A message to play physical or not to play physical. If it’s there, yes, take it. [but] Don’t go out of your way to throw it away.”

Gudas said no one told him, “Don’t hit anybody.” and as the center of Florida Eric Stahl “You can’t tell ‘Goody’ not to hit.

Morris said Guadas’ defensive value and value to the Panthers goes beyond his big beard and mustache.

“Radko Gudas is more of a tactical player and a tactically brilliant player than people can imagine,” Morris said. “… If you watch his game and understand the systems we run, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. That’s one of the reasons.” Josh Mahura He will get out of guilt and will not be out of line again. He’s an incredibly consistent mentor because he plays with the same intensity every night.

“You don’t have to sit next to Radko on the bench and think, ‘Maybe I’ll go half-speed tonight and he won’t feel me tonight.’ Because Radko won’t allow that, but he’s like, ‘Hey, kid, if you don’t move, I’m going to make you.'[He’s]more like, ‘We’ve got to go, we’ve got to get better.’ So he has this very strong technical game, but he also has a very strong personality.