Drew Doughty suspension is bad news for Kings vs. loaded Vegas squad

Drew Doughty won’t play in Game 2 for the Kings and the door is open for Vegas to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 in Game 1, and with the news that Kings defenseman Drew Doughty has been suspended for a high hit, the wheels are in motion for Gerard Gallant’s club to set up a choke hold on this series.

The news came on Thursday that star Los Angeles Kings defenseman and perennial Norris candidate Drew Doughty has been suspended for Game 2.

The reason? This hit to the head of William Carrier in the opening game on Wednesday night.

This is a punch to the gut of Los Angeles. Doughty is their best man on the blue line. Not only did he average a league-leading 26:50 of ice time a game, but he also added 60 points on top of playing shut-down defense.

Meanwhile, Vegas came into this series fifth in the NHL in goals per game at 3.27. They only scored one on Wednesday, but we can’t imagine that will last. Especially now that Doughty gets to watch from the press box on Friday.

Granted, the Kings gave up the fewest goals before the playoffs, but Doughty was a large part of it. Vegas must be salivating with the idea that they could potentially open up their offense, at least for one game. And really, one game may be all they need to start to put this series on the shelf.

The Golden Knights go into Friday’s tilt having witnessed a stellar performance from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. That spells bad things for a Los Angeles club that’s going to need to find secondary scoring and going to need to find it fast if this turns into an offensive gunfight.

For the Kings, they will likely be needing another performance from Jonathan Quick similar to the one he put up opposite Fleury on Wednesday night. He stopped 27-of-28 to keep his club in it.

Game 2 will be televised on NBCSN at 10 p.m. EST. They will remain in Vegas before moving to Los Angeles on Sunday.

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