Drew Doughty’s play is becoming increasingly concerning for the LA Kings.
Takeaway #2: Doughty’s struggles continue
For those holding out hope that Drew Doughty can bounce back from a couple of sub-par seasons and re-establish himself as an elite defenseman, these first three games haven’t been terribly encouraging.
A bad turnover on a clearing attempt led to Brandon Saad’s opening goal for the Avs just over three minutes into the game.
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Things didn’t get much better for him from there. Doughty was sloppy with the puck in his own end all night and wasn’t helping the Kings generate much offensively either. He also was consistently putting passes into his teammates’ skates or out of their reach.
It’s already at the point where you have to wonder if McLellan’s beginning to think about switching things up on the blue line. Doughty and Olli Maatta haven’t looked great together.