Doughty: 'Pretty absurd' to call Kings' 1-3-1 bad for hockey

Drew Doughty had a message for those who say the Los Angeles Kings' 1-3-1 alignment isn't good for the game of hockey.

"Pretty absurd comments," the veteran blue-liner said, according to The Fourth Period's Dennis Bernstein. "When we brought the system (in) ... I wasn't too keen on playing it, to be honest with you. But as we've continued to play it seeing how successful it is and how frustrating it is for other teams ... and I think a lot of these people are just saying it out of frustration, because it's working."

Vancouver Canucks rearguard Nikita Zadorov criticized the strategy after a 3-2 loss to the Kings on Monday night.

“I mean, that's their system,” he said, per Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. “They don't really make plays; they just rim the puck and sit back all game. I mean, it's their goal to (not) play hockey and (not) let the other team play hockey, pretty much. Yeah, it's hard to come back, especially when you're down two goals. They had one extra bounce than we did today, so that was the difference out there.”

Kings head coach Jim Hiller defended the system on Wednesday, pointing out that it gets results.

“Everybody plays the game to win and that’s what we do," Hiller said, according to Hockey Royalty's Russell Morgan.

Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl had a tongue-in-cheek response when asked Thursday if a little piece of him dies inside when he has to dump the puck in against the 1-3-1.

"Yeah, it's just unfortunate. It’s quite sad," he said jokingly, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.

The Kings entered Thursday occupying third place in the Pacific Division at 38-22-11.

Los Angeles drew similar criticism during its most recent Stanley Cup championship runs. The defensive-minded Kings became the first No. 8 seed to ever win the Stanley Cup in 2012 before winning it again two years later.