NHL suspends Brendan Lemieux for biting

The National Hockey League has decided that’s it’s five games for biting. On Tuesday night, the NHL Player Safety suspended Los Angeles Kings’ Brendan Lemieux five games for biting Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

I feel like fans expected more. Lemieux had an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after he was kicked out of a game for biting Tkachuk, who was furious with the gutless move.

The incident took place with 6:09 left in the third period of Saturday's game after Tkachuk began shoving Blake Lizotte following a whistle in the Senators' zone. Lemieux came to the defense of his teammate and tussled with Tkachuk to the ice as officials attempted to separate them. 

Tkachuk said Lemieux bit him and showed his bloody hand to the referees as he headed to the penalty box. Both players were assessed roughing penalties while Lemieux was ejected from the game with a 10-minute match penalty.

"It was the most gutless thing somebody could ever do," Tkachuk told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun after the game, a 4-2 Kings win. "I don't even know what he was thinking, he's just a complete brick head."

Lemieux has tallied four goals and five points in 13 games this season on the Kings' fourth line. He will miss the next five games.