Kings' Lemieux suspended 5 games for biting Senators' Tkachuk

The NHL suspended Los Angeles Kings forward Brendan Lemieux for five games for biting Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk during Saturday's contest, the league's Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday.

The incident occurred during the third period when Lemieux and Tkachuk wrestled in the corner of the ice. Both players received two roughing minors on the play.

The Department of Player Safety singled out a moment where it could see Lemieux biting Tkachuk's hand:

Great angle by @NHLPlayerSafety shows Lemieux bite down on left hand of Tkachuk pic.twitter.com/pVFm3V42Vi

- NHL Review (@nhl_review) December 1, 2021

Tkachuk didn't mince words postgame Saturday, calling the action "gutless" and describing Lemieux as a "bad guy" and a "brickhead."

This is Lemieux's third suspension in his career. He was disciplined for hitting Vincent Trocheck's head in 2018 and again for a late hit on Joonas Donskoi in 2020.

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