The Washington Capitals beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 Monday night, but the only thing anyone was talking about after the game was the Garnet Hathaway spitting incident involving Erik Gudbranson.
Hathaway took full responsibility for his actions while speaking to reporters, saying there’s no place in the game for such behavior. Meanwhile, Gudbranson was furious.
Gudbranson, as you might imagine, was pretty upset about being spit on. He told reporters: "That's about as low as you can dig a pit, really. It's a bad thing to do. It's something you just don't do in a game – and he did it."
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) November 19, 2019
Gudbranson to reporters in Ducks' room: "It's just disrespectful. I mean, we're competing. That's fine. I've got no problem with guys fighting. That's what this game is all about is guys fighting to win hockey gms & sometimes that's what happens. But going to that level is wrong"
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) November 19, 2019
Gudbranson’s teammates and coaches had this to say.
Derek Grant said of Garnet Hathaway spitting it’s “probably the most disrespectful thing you can do.”
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) November 19, 2019
Ducks coach Dallas Eakins on Hathaway spitting: "I think I've been in pro hockey 30 years maybe, and I've never seen that before. It's just something you don't see in the game. It's just a head-shaker."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) November 19, 2019
Eakins: "I'm just glad it wasn't one of our guys that did that because that wouldn't go well in our dressing room."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) November 19, 2019
Due to his match penalty, Hathaway will await a decision from the NHL on if he’ll receive supplemental discipline or not.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Ducks
Headline photo: NBC Sports Washington
