NHL defensemen Drew Doughty and Ryan Lindgren out long term with injuries

One of the top stories in the National Hockey League this week is the fact that two NHL defensemen will be out long term with injuries. New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren of Minneapolis, Minnesota is out at least a few weeks according to Josh Erickson of Pro Hockey Rumours on Wednesday. Then, according to Frank Servalli of Daily Faceoff, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty of London, Ontario is out long term after also being injured on Wednesday.

What were the injuries?

Lindgren got injured in a fight with Scott Mayfield of the New York Islanders. The fact that Lindgren fought Mayfield in a game with zero meaning or consequence and got injured in the process must have been extremely frustrating and disappointing to the entire Rangers organization. According to lohud.com, Lindgren was severely cut and dazed following the fight.

Doughty broke his ankle in a game between the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. Doughty was battling for the puck with Golden Knights forward Tanner Pearson along the boards in the first period when he fell on the ice awkwardly. The belief at this time is that Doughty could be gone between six to 10 weeks. Anyway you look at it, this is a massive blow to the Kings as Doughty is still an elite defenseman in the NHL, and has an amazing resume. His accolades include two gold medals for Canada at the Olympic Winter Games, two Stanley Cup championships and one Norris Trophy.

Doughty in 2023-24

This past season, Doughty had 15 goals and 35 assists for 50 points in 82 games. He was a +15 with 44 penalty minutes, 20 power-play points, three game-winning goals, 135 shots on goal, 142 blocked shots, 109 hits, 20 takeaways, and 45 giveaways.

Lindgren in 2023-24

Also this past season, Lindgren had three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 76 games. He was a +22 with 36 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 73 shots on goal, 103 blocked shots, 114 hits, 14 takeaways and 18 giveaways. Lindgren’s game-winning goal came on December 2 in a 4-3 Rangers win over the Nashville Predators. Lindgren scored on an all-American goal at 5:10 of the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock. Defenseman Adam Fox of Jericho, New York and center Jonny Brodzinski of Ham Lake, Minnesota had the assists.