Dec. 15--Greetings from Ottawa, where it has been overcast and rainy most of the day. The Kings, who have earned standings points in nine straight games (7-0-2), will face the Senators in the fourth game of this six-game trip.
First, some business. Late Monday afternoon, the Kings announced they had recalled defensemen Jeff Schultz and Nick Ebert from Ontario of the American Hockey League, a curious move considering they already have a spare defenseman with them in Derek Forbort. What makes it even stranger is the call-ups corresponded with putting two forwards on injured reserve: Kyle Clifford, retroactive to Dec. 6, and Trevor Lewis, retroactive to Dec. 4.
Why so many defensemen and not another forward, especially after Coach Darryl Sutter has remarked on the lack of an extra forward? Could another move be imminent, or is it merely salary-cap-related?
I asked General Manager Dean Lombardi to explain his reasoning but he hasn't yet responded.
Earlier in the day, defenseman Drew Doughty was the focus of the large media pack at the Kings' morning skate at the Canadian Tire Centre. Doughty's candidacy for the Norris trophy has become a hot topic, and he was asked how he compares with Ottawa's Erik Karlsson, who won it last season over Doughty, and Montreal's P.K. Subban, the 2013 winner.
"I know I'm a completely different defenseman than Erik Karlsson is and than P.K. Subban is," said Doughty, whose average ice time of 27 minutes and 46 seconds before Monday's game ranked second to the 28:25 average of Minnesota's Ryan Suter. "They play completely different than me. So I really don't even see how I'm comparable to them with the two styles of play.
"I'm sure those comparisons have been made and I just want to show everyone that I play good hockey both ways and I do deserve to be in those talks."
He acknowledged he would love to win the Norris at some point in his career.
"It's not all I think about, that's for sure. It's always in the back of my mind," said Doughty, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada. "But all I really care about is contributing to this L.A. Kings team and hopefully winning two more championships. If we have a good team and I'm playing well, then hopefully, I get recognized that way. The Norris is an individual trophy and I'm all about team trophies, so that's all that matters."
Doughty said he enjoyed meeting the media Monday but doesn't mind facing a smaller media corps in Southern California. "I guess that's one of the bright sides of playing in L.A. You have five or six rather than 20 or 30, which I think is a bonus," he said. "It's always fun coming to Canada. I love coming back here. Something about the air."
Maybe it's the scent of Tim Hortons coffee in the air. "Tim Hortons, that's very key," he said. "Get up in the morning and get Tim Hortons, which we don't have back home."
