Los Angeles Kings veteran defenseman Drew Doughty has been ruled out on a week-to-week basis due to a lower-body injury, coach Jim Hiller informed the media before Monday evening’s contest in Washington, D.C., against the Capitals.
Doughty, who had played in all 19 Kings’ games to date, departed Saturday’s game in Ottawa in the second period after absorbing a Senator shot off his boot. After the Kings’ 1-0 victory, he was spotted leaving the arena with a walking boot on his left leg.
The 35-year-old, who has played 18 seasons in Los Angeles, played a career-low 30 games in 2024-25 after fracturing his ankle in a late September preseason game. He returned in late January.
Hiller is confident the defensive-minded Kings can survive with Doughty on the shelf for a relatively short time.
“Well, I mean we lost him last year for I think five months, so we’ve gone through it before,” Hiller said. “It’s like any player. Someone else has to step up. Probably other players will assume more minutes. The nice part about this is he’s week-to-week not month-to-month. Last time was month-to-month, so we can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel already.”
Doughty, who is closing in on the 700-point plateau in his career, recovered in time to compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off last February and is on the short list to play for Team Canada in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
The London, Ont., native won the 2015-16 Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman and has lifted two Stanley Cups the Kings (2012, 2014).
“He’s obviously one of the biggest, if not the biggest competitor, I think, in the league,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “It (stinks) to see him obviously be hurting, but again, he battles. He’s going to do anything he can to keep playing or stay engaged and involved.”
The Kings (10-5-4, 24 points) have won four consecutive games on their current road trip, allowing only six goals. They fly back to California and play in San Jose on Thursday before hosting Boston on Nov. 21.
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