The Los Angeles Kings are getting defenseman Drew Doughty back for Thursday's outing against the Chicago Blackhawks. He's been out of the lineup since Nov. 15.
The Los Angeles Kings will be getting their No. 1 defenseman back for their game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Drew Doughty is returning to the Kings’ lineup after missing seven games due to a lower-body injury. He suffered this injury against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 15 from blocking a shot. After playing 11:44 of ice time in that contest, he didn’t return.
Since then, he was placed on injured reserve, and 27-year-old Jacob Moverare has slotted in for him on Los Angeles’ back end.
Doughty took full participation in practice on Wednesday with the Kings. After that session, head coach Jim Hiller labelled him and left winger Warren Foegele as “hopeful” for a return against Chicago. As it turns out, the team will be getting one of them back for Thursday night.
In terms of how this affects Los Angeles’ lineup, Moverare will likely swap out for Doughty, while Brian Dumoulin will likely come off power-play duties after earning a short stint as the quarterback on the second unit.
Kings Make Significant And Highly-Anticipated Changes To Both Power-Play Units
Jim Hiller has made another change to the Los Angeles Kings' power play, but this one has been highly anticipated for quite some time. Defenseman Brandt Clarke gets moved to the first unit, while Brian Dumoulin gets reps with the second group.
This season, Doughty has made 19 appearances for the Kings. In that span, he’s scored two goals and eight assists for eight points. The 35-year-old has averaged 22:33 of ice time and a plus-seven rating, both of which are team highs.
In Doughty’s absence, the Kings have registered a 2-2-3. They’ve nabbed points in five of their last six games, but would like to get back in the win column, facing the Blackhawks twice in three nights at Crypto.com Arena.
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