EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is undergoing further testing because of a lower-body injury he sustained in a preseason game at the Vegas Golden Knights.
Doughty hurt his left leg Wednesday when he slammed into the boards while engaged with Golden Knights forward Tanner Pearson in the first period of a 3-2 win. Doughty was in a protective boot and using a knee scooter to get around the team facility on Thursday.
“You don’t want to have Drew out for an extended period of time, but that’s just a sad reality now and we’re gonna have to deal with it,” Kings center and captain Anze Kopitar said.
Head coach Jim Hiller would not get into the exact nature of the tests for Doughty but expects the team to know more later Thursday.
Doughty, 34, has been the Kings’ stalwart on the blue line going into his 17th season and is one of the remaining links to their two Stanley Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2014. He was second in the NHL in time on ice this past season, averaging 25:48, and Doughty led Kings defensemen with 15 goals and 35 assists.
The loss of Doughty leaves Los Angeles with two spots to replace in their top four on defense to start Hiller’s first full season. Matt Roy, who was second on the team in ice time, assists and points, signed a six-year contract with the Washington Capitals on July 1.
The Kings have two promising young players to try and fill those roles in Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence.
Clarke, the eighth overall pick in the 2021 draft, is set to play his first full NHL season after getting two goals and six assists in 25 games over the previous two campaigns. The 21-year-old is regarded as a potentially dynamic offensive contributor but is likely to need time to adjust to being a two-way defender at this level.
Spence, 23, had two goals and 22 assists in 71 games. He worked primarily on the third defensive pairing and ran the second power play.
“However long he’s out, we’ll try and make up for everything he brings, but obviously it’s a shoe to fill,” said Mikey Anderson, Doughty’s usual defensive partner. “But we’ll try our best to collectively fill it.”
