On this day in hockey history, Brendan Lemieux had some unlikely offense in a game, but I wanna focus on his face.
Three days after challenging Tom Wilson to a fight, Lemieux showed off his battle scars which included an unbelievably gnarly black eye. The forward’s wrecked mug was captured by MSG after he was awarded the lucky Broadway hat as player of the game.
1 year ago today
iconic pic.twitter.com/k2pTPzLEtg
— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 23, 2020
The fight happened on November 20, 2019, after some fun banter and buildup on the ice. As Tom Wilson skated back to the bench for a shift change, he was caught asking Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich if he wanted him to fight Brendan Lemieux.
“Do you want him to go to sleep? Do you want me to put him to sleep?” Wilson asked.
Buchnevich doesn’t have time for Tom Wilson’s “go to sleep” bullshit. pic.twitter.com/lCNtcVFdSF
— Tom Urtz Jr. (@TomUrtzJr) November 21, 2019
Nearly nine minutes later, Lemieux attempted to nail Alex Ovechkin along the benches with a borderline hit. Lemieux pulled in the turnover and was immediately decked by Wilson and a furious Alex Ovechkin. Wilson and Lemieux dropped the gloves.
The fight was likely somewhat inspired by a headshot Lemieux delivered to Michal Kempny a month before.
Brendan Lemieux with a head shot on Michal Kempny. Kempny is playing his first game tonight after missing nearly seven months due to a torn left hamstring. pic.twitter.com/5cAAyTbI1a
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 18, 2019
Two days later, Lemiuex debuted his new black eye during warmups ahead of a game against the Ottawa Senators.
Brendan Lemieux is sporting a shiner in warmups pic.twitter.com/yQVmZLoNUG
— Tom Urtz Jr. (@TomUrtzJr) November 23, 2019
Later that night, he was high-sticked in the mug and lost several teeth…
Brendan Lemieux's face is having a rough few days. Looks to have lost a tooth/teeth. pic.twitter.com/wDUHao3eMj
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) November 23, 2019
…which he later found while searching with his teammates.
Hockey players. pic.twitter.com/EDcIzKtWlv
— Gino Hard (@Ginohard_) November 23, 2019
This is just another reminder: never fight Tom Wilson.
Screenshot courtesy of @RangersMSGN
