Kings’ Brendan Lemieux Accused of Biting Senators’ Brady Tkachuk in a 4-2 LA Win

The Los Angeles Kings figuratively and literally took a bite out of the Ottawa Senators Saturday evening en route to a 4-2 victory over the struggling club.

The Senators have now dropped five games in a row, including all four on a road trip played without their leading point-getter Drake Batherson. Batherson remained in Ottawa after being placed in Covid-19 Protocol November 14.

The day was certainly a memorable one for the team and its fans. The night, however, took a tumultuous turn when Kings’ Brendan Lemieux took not one, but two bites out Senators’ captain Brady Tkachuk’s hands during a late scuffle.

Lemieux was handed a match penalty after a video review for his actions, which guarantees an automatic hearing with NHL Player Safety.

Brendan Lemieux was given a 5-minute match penalty after Brady Tkachuk claimed that he was bitten after they dropped the gloves. pic.twitter.com/kUlig9bKGb

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 28, 2021

Tkachuk was critical of the incident postgame, “I think it was the most gutless thing somebody can ever do. Not even children bite. This guy – you can ask anyone of his teammates. Nobody wants to play with him. This guy – he’s a bad guy, bad teammate – focuses on himself all the time. This guy is a joke. He shouldn’t f***ing be in this league. This guy is gutless. No other team wants him. He’s going to keep begging to be in the NHL – no team is going to want him. This guy is just an absolute joke – just a bad guy. It’s gutless. I can’t really wrap my head around it. Children don’t even do this. This guy is just a bad guy and not even a good player either.”

Tkachuk added, “It’s outrageous. Kids don’t do this anymore, babies do that. The fact he decides – I don’t know what he’s thinking. Nobody does that, he’s a complete brick head – bad guy, bad player. He’s got nothing up there. He’s got a couple of more years. It’s ticking for him. Nobody wants him.”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch each tweeted Friday evening that goalie Matt Murray was being placed on waivers Saturday.

Murray was in fact waived based on the idea he plays his way back to form in Belleville. The 27-year old missed the opening three games of the campaign with the flu and his subpar start to the season snowballed from there. Getting hit with the coronavirus also set him back.

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Murray is winless in five decisions this season, posting a 3.26 goals-against average, .890 save percentage.

In his pregame availability Senators head coach D.J. Smith said of Murray, “Obviously, we want him to get going. He’ll be on waivers today. If someone picks him up, it’ll give him an opportunity there. If he doesn’t, he’ll likely go down to Belleville and get an opportunity to play and get his game back. By no means is this on Matt Murray. We want him to be the best goalie possible – give him the best chance. I think this revolves around he’s had a lot of injuries and nothing he can do about it – Covid – a lot of things. He’s missed a lot of time and hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm. We certainly have to play better in front of him as well. We have to take blame there too. This isn’t on him. This is about getting his game back.”

The Senators made a claim of their own Saturday – plucking Chicago Blackhawks forward Adam Gaudette off the waiver the wire.

Gaudette, the 2018 NCAA Hobey Baker Award winner after notching a 30-goal, 30-assist season at Northeastern University is a centre by trade but skated mainly on the right wing during his 15-games with the Blackhawks.

A fifth-round, 2015 Entry Draft selection by Vancouver, Gaudette is only two seasons out from compiling 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in 59 games with the Canucks.

Gaudette should be a solid addition for the Senators in a third or fourth-line role.

Senators’ fans may recall the Braintree, MA native as being the lone goal scorer in a shootout upon which Filip Gustavsson had entered the game after starter Joey Daccord suffered a high ankle sprain. It was Daccord’s final game in a Senators’ uniform and Gustavsson’s first.

The Senators will have a couple of rest days prior to hitting the ice Tuesday for practice ahead of their Wednesday night date with the Canucks.