Brendan Lemieux took a short moment to think, and measured his words. But the message was clear from the Rangers winger that he didn’t like the edgy way Brady Tkachuk was playing — without ever accepting the invitation to fight — when the Senators came into the Garden on Monday and took a 6-2 victory, raining on the Blueshirts’ parade by ending a two-game winning streak with a rude and physical contest.
“I don’t appreciate guys that don’t back it up,” Lemieux told The Post before Wednesday night’s primetime Garden match against the Red Wings. “But to each their own.