Penguins accuse Flyers' Hartnell of biting
Alleged incident occurred in scrum with Pittsburgh defenceman Letang
Last Updated: Friday, October 9, 2009 | 11:49 AM ET
CBC Sports
Penguins defenceman Kris Letang leaves the ice Thursday night after being injured in a third-period skirmish against Philadelphia. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Scott Hartnell had some explaining to do Friday, and it had nothing to do with the Philadelphia Flyers' 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh the previous night.
A hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. ET after the Penguins accused Hartnell, a ninth-year NHL left-winger, of biting Pittsburgh defenceman Kris Letang on the right ring finger during a scrum with less than two seconds left in regulation at Philadelphia.
"I think he [Hartnell] knows what he did," Letang, with his finger heavily bandaged, told reporters after the game between state rivals.
Hartnell told reporters he did not bite Letang, adding that "a lot of stuff happens on the bottom of the pile. He had his hands in my face doing the face wash and we're rolling around. I can't say what happened."
Hartnell, who is seventh in team scoring this season with three points in four games, isn't the first Flyer to be accused of biting. Retired blue-liner Derian Hatcher was accused of biting New Jersey's Travis Zajac, but wasn't fined or suspended.
Last season, the NHL suspended Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu two games for biting Buffalo Sabres tough guy Andrew Peters.
Thursday's incident overshadowed a four-point night by Philadelphia centre Jeff Carter, but it wasn't enough as the turnover-happy Flyers suffered their first loss in four games (3-1-0).
However, Carter and company did hold Penguins star Sidney Crosby without a point for just the third time in his past 27 regular-season meetings versus Philadelphia.
