Drew Doughty will return to LA Kings’ lineup against Ducks

The LA Kings will get a big piece back for tonight’s game against the Anaheim Ducks as Drew Doughty is set to make his highly-anticipated return, per Zach Dooley.

The Great 🎱!

Todd McLellan confirms that Drew Doughty will return to the lineup this evening against Anaheim.

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) November 30, 2021

Doughty initially went down on October 22 against the Dallas Stars.

Kings general manager Rob Blake indicated that the initial prognosis on his timetable was six weeks to resume skating and eight weeks to return to game action. The former Norris Trophy winner needed just five and some change to make his return. Of course, we’ll be monitoring his lateral motions, quickness, and all that throughout tonight’s game.

However, he’s been skating with Mikey Anderson on the team’s top pairing in practice over the last two days, so the team and Doughty must feel pretty confident about his health.

On Monday, the Kings’ blueliners looked like this:

Anderson – Doughty
Edler – Roy
Bjornfot – Durzi
Maatta – Clague

Doughty coming back into the fold gives Sean Durzi the opportunity to play with more of a defensive defenseman in Tobias Bjornfot, which should balance well with Durzi’s puck-moving style of play. Not only that, but Doughty will presumably take his spot on the team’s top powerplay unit, giving way for Durzi to quarterback the second unit.

It’s all good news leading up to the Freeway Faceoff tonight.

LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks: Preview, One-Timers, Broadcast Info