Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Radko Gudas has been suspended two games for high-sticking NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov.   

The incident occurred in third period of the Flyers' 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. As Sean Couturier cleared the puck from the Flyers' zone, Gudas' stick dropped down and hit Kucherov in the back of the head. Gudas received a two-minute minor for high-sticking on the play.

Gudas, 28, has two goals and 13 points in 57 games this season with a plus-11 rating. He has been suspended by the league on three previous occasions, most recently picking up a 10-game ban for slashing Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault in the back of the head while he was on the ice in November 2017. That suspension came less than 18 months ago, meaning Gudas will be treated as a repeat offender by the league's department of player safety.

He avoided a suspension in February of last year after picking up a interference penalty for a collision with New Jersey Devils forward Kyle Palmieri, who believed Gudas deserved punishment from the league.

"After certain events and a certain history, you lose the benefit of the doubt of saying it was an accident," Palmieri told NJ.com at the time. "His history speaks for itself. I know it's a fast game, stuff happens out there, but like I said, you lose the benefit of the doubt after a couple incidents and reckless plays.

"It's not my decision to make, but it seems more than likely that he's run out of second chances."