Collective sigh of relief incoming? Maybe.
In a 2-1 loss to San Jose last night at SAP Center, the biggest loss of the night was clearly Drew Doughty going out late in the first period after what seemed like a harmless shoulder check on Tyler Kennedy. After the hit Doughty took a moment behind the net before hunching over in pain and skating directly to the Kings' locker room.
The Royal Half posted a couple of GIFs from the play. Check it:
Far away:
Close up:
Since it seemed like such a minor impact, it was concerning when hearing that he would miss the rest of the game with an upper-body injury. Collarbone, right? Separated shoulder? Kings' fans were immediately thinking about having to go Doughty-less in the playoffs.
And my, oh my, what an unfortunate circumstance that would be.
But a ray of hope has shined through.
Update: Doughty IS making the trip to Vancouver...
— lisa dillman (@reallisa) April 4, 2014Even though the injury was serious enough to remove Doughty from the game (who knows how much of that was precautionary), it is not serious enough to hold him out of what looks like more than one or two games. The Kings are making a three-game swing through Canada, Saturday through Thursday. Doughty must feel at some point he will be able to play in one of those games.
Doubtful that the organization would risk Doughty if it was something as serious as a broken/fractured collarbone and/or a separated shoulder. Especially since these games have little to no implications currently.
Relax folks, looks like No. 8 will be playing in another postseason.
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Also, since I have mentioned it in the previous blogs I just want to keep it going here.
Did Alec Martinez get another point last night?
(Don't ask why it's a strawberry. I just like the picture.)
Also interesting to note that after Dustin Brown took the penalty at 13:25 of the second period which led to the eventual game winning goal for San Jose, he played just four more shifts. He took three in the third and played a grand total of 10:21.
Kings will play one more set of back to backs this year on Wednesday and Thursday against Edmonton and Calgary. Expect Martin Jones to suit up for at least one of those games. The undrafted rookie has had an outstanding season regardless of the outcome of that game or whether or not he plays.
With an 11-6-3 record, a .932 save percentage, and a goals against average of 1.91, Jones and the Kings can consider this a breakout season for the 24-year-old. Whom, again I repeat, was not drafted. Strong work.
The Kings can essentially put the final dagger in the heart of Vancouver's playoff hopes tomorrow night with a win. Be wary though, Vancouver is likely to be amped up and playing for their lives. Expect a battle.
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