Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland confirms Drew Doughty will be out "week-to-week," suggesting the veteran defenseman will miss several games.
Drew Doughty has been out of the Los Angeles Kings' lineup since Saturday in the team’s 1-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. He played 11:44 of that outing before leaving the game with a lower-body injury.
Doughty blocked a shot on his foot and ankle area, which was enough to force him out of the rest of the contest.
On Wednesday, Kings GM Ken Holland spoke with the media and shared an update on the veteran defenseman’s status with his injury.
Holland told reporters that Doughty is week-to-week, “two-to-three weeks, we’re hoping,” he added. He has played 19 games this year, registering two goals and eight points from the back end.
Drew Doughty Exits Kings Game With Lower-Body Injury
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty exits in pain, leaving LA shorthanded for the rest of the game against the Senators.
With that, they placed the 35-year-old on injured reserve, which forces him to be inactive for at least seven days. That automatically rules him out for Los Angeles’ next three games against the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins and Senators.
However, judging by Holland’s comments, it sounds like Doughty won’t return to the lineup until December rolls around. On the other hand, that still gives him a chance to be named to Team Canada's Olympic team - the deadline to announce rosters is on Dec. 31.
In the meantime, the Kings have not made any roster moves regarding their defense. The team will continue to roll with six D-men on its roster, with Jacob Moverare continuing to fill in.
Moverare has made two appearances this season. One was as an extra, seventh defenseman, where he played just 3:13 of ice time on two shifts against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 30.
The Kings’ clash against the Washington Capitals was his first real appearance of the campaign, taking 13 shifts and ending the night with 10:19 of ice time.
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There is a luxury of Los Angeles having their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, about an hour-and-a-half drive away. Therefore, if the team does need to call up a player from the minors, it isn’t extremely inconvenient to make that roster move.
On the back end, Kyle Burroughs would likely be the next man up. He played 33 games for the Kings last season, and another 168 NHL regular-season appearances to go with that.
At the start of the season, Burroughs was dealing with an upper-body injury from blocking a shot in pre-season. He only became active in early November, when he was waived to the Reign.
Since then, he's played six games in the minors, recording one goal, four penalty minutes and a plus-two rating.
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