To get an idea of how absolutely crazy this season has been for the Kings this year, the story of Drew Doughty pretty much sums it up just fine.
When the future Hall of Famer went down during September’s first preseason game, many wrote the team off for 2024-25. After all, with a myriad of roster changes made in the summer, the top defensive pair of Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson was supposed to be one of the very few constants for coach Jim Hiller.
Then, to the surprise of many, not only did the Kings tread water and stay in the playoff picture, they proved to be one of the better teams in the league for long stretches of time — and the best defensive team — despite missing a guy who is still considered to be highly effective and important piece of LA’s puzzle.
Fast forward to tonight and Doughty is expected to finally make his season debut. One could argue it’s coming at a nearly perfect time. Like a knight in shining armor or a superhero coming to save the day, Hiller is likely hoping Drew can inject some sort of energy or mojo back into the roster that has lost their offensive spark over the last ten games.
Potentially adding a scoring forward from outside the organization before next month’s Trade Deadline is something to think about in the weeks ahead. Tonight, the focus remains on somehow securing two points. In danger of a bad road trip, this game feels about as important as any other game this season.
How will Hiller piece together the remaining rearguards? That’s something that will likely sort itself out throughout the game. Regardless of what alignment he shows during warmups, the defensemen will probably swap around throughout the game, as Doughty is expected to play less than 18 minutes in his first game back. With Sammy Helenius expected to be optioned to AHL Ontario, there at least remains the possibility of Hiller going back to utilizing seven defensemen tonight to give him a little extra protection while easing Doughty back into the lineup.
Statistically Speaking
— Defenseman Jordan Spence has four points (1G, 3A) in his last five appearances and has recorded a cumulative time-on-ice (TOI) of110:15, the fourth-highest TOI over a five-game stretch in his career and the highest since the 2021-22 season.
— Since returning to action on Saturday in Columbus, forward Alex Laferriere has recorded assists in back-to-back games. Should he record at least one assist in tonight’s contest, he will tie a career-high three-game assist streak he set in early 2024.
— Tonight’s game marks the second time the Kings and Panthers face off against one another in the span of a week. LA claimed a 2-1 victory on Jan. 22 at Crypto.com Arena.
— The Kings are 9-8-3-1 on the road all-time against the Panthers.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Panthers
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Turcotte – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfield – Moore
Fiala– Danault – Laferriere
Jeannot – Lewis
Anderson – Gavrikov
Edmundson – Spence
Doughty – Clarke
Moverare
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
Likely scratches: (F) Thomas and (D) Burroughs, Englund
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 4:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app (which is the new home for Kings radio this season, they’ve moved off of the iHeart platform).
More on the ongoing TV situation here.
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