Doctor predicts the worst for LA Kings defenseman Drew Doughty

On Wednesday evening, the Kings were in Las Vegas to face the Golden Knights for their first pre-season game of the year. They sent out an interesting lineup for the game. Notably, Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala, Philip Danault, and Drew Doughty were on the ice to steal Ilya Samsonov's win on his first official start with the Golden Knights. The former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender allowed three goals out of the 30 shots he faced, while Darcy Kuemper and Carter George split the Kings' workload between the pipes. They ended up allowing one goal each and returned to Los Angeles with their first win of the preseason.

Unfortunately, they also returned with one of their most important players injured.

Indeed, Kings' top defenseman Drew Doughty was injured during the game and immediately retreated to the locker room with what looks to be a severe injury.

He fell near the boards, with his ankle moving in an awkward angle.

Check out the video of the incident here:

Dr. Harjas Grewal, who often shares his take on injuries that occur in the NHL, revealed that in his opinion, Doughty either broke his ankle, tore his Achilles, or both:

We should get an update from the Kings soon, but the fans sure hope that Dr. Grewal is wrong and that Doughty's injury isn't as bad as it looks. 

He's the most important member of the team's defensive unit, and his absence could be tough to cope with for his teammates.

The team will hope that newly acquired Joel Edmundson and promising prospect Brandt Clark will take their game to the next level in the upcoming season, in the event that Doughty misses a large part of the season due to his injury.