Doughty suspension will test Kings depth in Game 2 vs. Golden Knights
Los Angeles already dealing with injuries to defensemen
"I mean, he's the best defenseman in the League," forward Dustin Brown said. "So it's a huge hole."
Doughty received a one-game suspension Thursday for an illegal check to the head of forward William Carrier in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round, a 1-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
RELATED: [Doughty suspended one game, out for Kings in Game 2 | Complete Golden Knights vs. Kings series coverage]
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is at T-Mobile Arena on Friday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, ATTSN-RM, PRIME).
Los Angeles already is missing defensemen Derek Forbort (lower body) and Jake Muzzin (upper body) because of injuries. Muzzin has been practicing but hasn't been cleared for contact, and coach John Stevens did not have an update on him Thursday.
The Kings used three defensemen with little to no Stanley Cup Playoff experience in Game 1: Christian Folin (two games), Oscar Fantenberg (none) and Paul LaDue (none). Now they might use another: Kevin Gravel (none).
"They're just going to have to go out there and play and play as hard as they can, and they'll do a great job," Doughty said.
Doughty hasn't missed a game since late in the 2013-14 regular season. He has played 360 consecutive games in the regular season and playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup for the second time in 2014 and the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 2015-16.
He's a strong candidate to win the Norris again.
He played more in the regular season (26:50 per game) than any other skater in the NHL. He set NHL career highs in assists (50) and points (60), ranked third on the Kings in scoring, and was a big reason they were No. 1 in penalty-killing (85.0 percent) and allowed the fewest goals per game (2.46).
"What impresses me most is how strong he is defensively," defenseman Dion Phaneuf said. "He's got an offensive side to his game that's very gifted, but the way he plays the game defensively, that's why he gets the respect that he does. It's well-earned."
In Game 1, the Kings allowed one goal to Vegas, the fifth-highest scoring team in the regular season (3.27 goals per game), and it came on a shot by defenseman Shea Theodore that deflected off Folin in front. The Kings held forwards William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Erik Haula and James Neal off the scoresheet.
But the Kings didn't do well enough against the Golden Knights' depth players. The goal came after Carrier hit Folin on the forecheck and caused a turnover, and forward Tomas Nosek skated past defenseman Alec Martinez and sent a sharp pass to the point.
"I thought we did a pretty good job on their top players, but I thought their really working players created too much for them," Stevens said. "Not only in momentum, but they created a lot of scoring chances for them. That's a two-pronged problem. I think we've got to contain their workers, but you know their top guys are going to get going."
Brown and center Anze Kopitar had excellent chances. The Kings had 30 shots and took two offensive-zone penalties -- Brown for goaltender interference and forward Trevor Lewis for interference. But they failed to score and felt they didn't generate enough of a forecheck and enough traffic in front of Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
"I think there's some things we can do to allow us to spend more time in the offensive zone," Stevens said. "I think we can generate more speed in the first two zones."
Doughty's absence will hurt at both ends of the rink. He played 28:02 in Game 1, almost five minutes more than any other Kings skater, and had six shot attempts and six blocked shots.
Other defensemen will slot higher in the lineup in Game 2.
"I think he's the best [defenseman] in the League, and he's so easy to play with," said Fantenberg, who partnered with Doughty in Game 1. "I don't think that's good for the team, but I think somebody else has to step up and take those minutes."
At least the Kings have a core of players who have been through difficult situations before. This is just another.
"I think the people in this room are important," Stevens said. "You don't win with players. You win with people, and you win with people that care, and we've got an awful lot of people here that care. But we've had adversity all year. We just need other people to pick up the slack by committee."
