Gaudreau rarely gets hit for 2 reasons.
1. He avoids center mass. When he sees a hit coming he puts himself into a position to take the hit grazingly instead of the oppositions crest making contact.
2. Because he is off centre mass he puts his weight to the outside skate and spins off the check turning the oppositions forward momentum into angular momentum. His reaction time is so quick and he is so light that the 8 or 9 inches he shifts turns it from a hit to a play where his opponent is out of position. They rarely try to hit him because of this only taking advantage behind the net or in races to the corner. Hitting him in open ice is like squeezing wet soap, he'll slip right through their fingers.
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