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Kings’ Drew Doughty gets another shot at playoffs against Edmonton

April 16, 2023

For the Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, a first-round rematch with Edmonton will offer even more novelty for the team’s second-longest tenured player than it will to his second-year teammates.

Last year, the typically durable Doughty was absent for 43 regular-season contests plus all seven playoff games after missing just 19 matches between 2008 and 2022. As the Kings watched 1-0 and 3-2 series leads dissipate in a set they ultimately lost to the Oilers in seven games, their leader in time on ice could only look on from a bird’s eye view.

“It was like watching your kid play in a game,” Doughty said. “I was worried if anyone was going to make a mistake. I was super intense during the game, I’d be yelling up top if they should have called a penalty. If we scored, I was jumping up and down, I was just super pumped for the guys.”

“I enjoyed watching the boys, but I hated every moment of it at the same time because I wanted to be playing, I knew I could help us out there, and that just makes this year more special for me.”

Kings coach Todd McLellan said what Doughty added to the team was as obvious as it was irreplaceable: a highly decorated player who had won two Stanley Cups and a Norris Trophy and who was capable of playing extended minutes against top players in critical situations, all while offering a unique leadership style.

“He’s more on the loud side of things, talking quite a bit. That’s how he gets ready and that’s how he gets the team ready,” said team captain Anze Kopitar, who with Doughty is the only remaining link to the Kings’ championships from last decade still on the roster.

Doughty brought to the table more than just his voice, which he joked Saturday that he was using to try to negotiate lower cap hits for the two players, Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo, that the Kings picked up in a trade involving longtime goalie Jonathan Quick.

Doughty’s flair for improvisation, unwavering will to win and indefatigable motor have been staples of his game from Day One, and he’s always relished high-stakes competition. Doughty’s 52 points this season were the most since he scored a career-high 60 in 2017-18, the last campaign that saw Doughty appear in the postseason.

Yet it’ll be Doughty’s defense, along with that of his stalwart partner Mikey Anderson, that will be at the fore against Edmonton. Paired against the league’s best power play and a top line that features Connor McDavid, whose 153 points were the most in a single season in nearly three decades of NHL action, Doughty and Anderson have been as effective as anyone. McDavid and No. 2 scorer Leon Draisaitl combined for seven points in four games against the Kings this year, but slathered on 83 in 44 against the rest of the Pacific Division. The Kings also held Edmonton’s power play scoreless across three meetings and much of a fourth.

“We both get up for the challenge, we’re not scared of the challenge, we’re excited for the opportunity and we basically put the offense on the backburner when we’re out there against [McDavid],” Doughty said.

While two new ingredients to their mix, offseason acquisition Kevin Fiala and center-turned-winger Gabe Vilardi, seem destined to start the series in the press box, defenseman Alex Edler appears probable for the series and Doughty isn’t the only King who will be healthier in 2023 than in 2022.

Winger Viktor Arvidsson, who abruptly left the first practice of last playoffs and didn’t return until October’s season opener because of an injured disk, grinded his way through rehab and was one of the Kings’ more effective forwards this season.

“It’s hard to imagine that this practice, last year, at this time, we lost him. Talk about bad luck for him and for us. We missed him in that series,” McLellan said. “I think his play has just elevated as the year has gone on, he’s continually gotten better.”

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Linemate Phillip Danault praised Arvidsson’s passion and dedication and said their line felt like “something was coming back” in recent matches. Like Doughty, Arvidsson may have missed last year’s series but earned considerable experience earlier in his career, most notably on a run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final with Nashville.

For Arvidsson, Doughty and every one of their teammates, they’ve made their money over the course of 82 games, but now it’s time to earn it in pursuit of the 16 wins that matter most.

“Being in the stands, seeing the fans go crazy in both arenas and seeing the emotion that all the guys were playing with on the ice just made me that much hungrier,” Doughty said. “I’m just super excited to get it going.”

Orange County Register

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Kings’ Drew Doughty gets another shot at playoffs against Edmonton

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