Kings' Doughty makes season debut in loss to Panthers
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty played for the first time this season Wednesday night in a 3-0 defeat to the Florida Panthers.
Doughty led all skaters for both teams with 23:51 of ice time.
The Kings activated Doughty off injured reserve prior to the contest and loaned forward Samuel Helenius to the AHL in a corresponding move.
Doughty missed Los Angeles' first 47 games after fracturing his ankle in an awkward fall during a September preseason matchup. He had surgery to repair the issue and was given a month-to-month recovery timeline.
The Kings went 26-15-6 in their No. 1 rearguard's absence and entered Wednesday third in the Pacific Division.
Doughty returned to practice in a noncontact capacity last Monday and traveled with the team on its current five-game road trip.
The veteran said he was eager to be done with the recovery process.
"It's sucked, I'm not going to lie," Doughty said Sunday, according to team reporter Zach Dooley. "It's very repetitive, you have to work your bag off, even just to get something back like mobility. That's a lot of hard work to get back.
"The hard work just never stops. I'm in the gym every day doing that stuff. Now, I'm getting bag (skated) here every day, and this is kind of the point where I'm almost at my tipping point where I just want to play a game. I'm sick of doing this stuff. I've had a good mentality for most of it, but right now, it's kind of been the toughest point for me."
Doughty has been a fixture of the Kings' blue line since his debut in 2008-09. He's paced the team in average ice time in each of the last 16 campaigns and won the Norris Trophy as the league's top rearguard in 2016.
The 35-year-old was outstanding last season. He reached the 50-point mark for the fifth time in his NHL tenure, and his 15 goals were just one off the career high he established in 2009-10. Doughty also ranked second in the league in average ice time (25:48) while appearing in all 82 games.
Doughty recently expressed an interest in representing Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. There's an open spot on the blue line after Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo withdrew from the tournament.