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Drew Doughty Avoids Serious Injury After Nasty Knee-on-Knee Hit

Early reports are that Drew Doughty was injured but not as seriously as he could have been after a knee-on-knee hit.

After an unfortunate incident in Friday’s game between the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings, it appears defenseman Drew Doughty is getting some fortunate news. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the early results on Doughty after taking a knee-on-knee hit are positive. The team believes that he has avoided any significant injury.

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Reports are that Doughty may have a minor knee sprain. Considering how nasty the hit looked, that’s good news for the player and the team. Seravalli reports that everyone is still waiting on a final diagnosis but the signs are positive that he’s not going to miss as much time as perhaps originally anticipated.

The hit came late in the second period of the game with the Stars and when Doughty was hit by Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa. Doughty was helped back to the Kings dressing room and didn’t return to the game.

The NHL took a look at the play and decided that there would be no supplemental discipline. Hakanpaa was assessed a five-minute major for kneeing and issued a game misconduct. Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News reports that the NHL Department of Player Safety explained that Hakanpaa did not extend his knee and maintained his body position throughout the hit. For that reason, the play was not suspendable.

Doughty was having a fantastic start to the season with the Los Angeles Kings but also a likely player for Team Canada in the 2022 Olympics. He’d scored seven points (1-6-7) in four games. There is no word yet on just how much time Doughty is expected to miss. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, he has missed only three regular-season games.

One thing is for certain. Doughty will not play tonight for the Kings, and Olli Maatta will make his season debut.

Next: Journalist Says Oilers May Need to Test Puljujarvi Away from McDavid

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  1. Pingback: Jack Eichel Considering Filing a Grievance if Not Traded

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