Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas confirmed he will play Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gudas is fighting through a lower-body injury and was previously seen in a walking boot.

After skating on Monday, Gudas confirmed he’ll play against the Maple Leafs, ostensibly to provide the Maple Leafs an avenue to provide some vengeance. Gudas delivered an illegal knee-on-knee hit on Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews during a March 12 contest. Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion as a result. Toronto’s captain underwent surgery to repair his MCL, requiring a 12-week recovery period.

“I want to stand behind my own mistakes,” Gudas said Monday via Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

Gudas was issued a five-game suspension as a result of the hit. Immediately after the sanction, Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, ripped into the NHL Department of Player Safety for what he believed to be a lenient sentence.

NHL Department of Player Safety senior vice president George Parros is expected to be in attendance for Monday’s game, according to David Alter of The Hockey News.

It’s expected to be a physical affair, as the Maple Leafs were universally criticized for their lack of physical response, following Gudas’ hit to Matthews. As Matthews writhed on the ice in agony, all the other skaters watched idly by as the play reached a standstill. Maple Leafs rookie Easton Cowan fought Ducks defenceman Jackson LaCombe during the third period, but aside from the 20-year-old’s belated effort, head coach Craig Berube was irate with the lack of response.

“We should’ve had four guys in there doing something about it, but it didn’t happen,” Berube said, following the March 12 contest. “But I thought they responded in the third. It was a good response there, but we all would’ve liked everybody to get in there right away.”

Time will only tell if Gudas’ presence necessitates an ugly affair in Anaheim on Monday.