Doughty, and his `stache, looking for better

Ladies and gentlemen, the Drew Doughty mustache is back. Doughty is one of many players around the league who grow out a mustache for “Movember,’’ the movement that attempts to raise awareness about prostate cancer and other diseases. On the ice, Doughty is hoping for a better look as well. After returning from injury, Doughty played back-to-back games this weekend and was uneven at best against Phoenix and Colorado.

DOUGHTY: “I thought I wasn’t my best in the first game. I struggled a little bit, maybe tried to do too much. But in the second game, I thought I played well. I felt a lot better in that second game. I’ve still got a lot of room to improve and get better, and I know I’m just going to get better with time. It takes a while to get back into the game after being injured, so I’ll be fine and I’ll get a lot better.’’

Doughty will play Thursday against Edmonton in what will technically be his home debut, since he missed the first three games at Staples Center with the injury.

DOUGHTY: “I’m really looking forward to playing at Staples and having that home crowd. I guess I played in two home games, but they were overseas so really they weren’t home games at all. So I’m really excited to play in front of the home crowd. It was tough missing that home opener, especially because everyone was fired up in there. It was a tough game to miss, but I’m looking forward to Thursday.’’

Terry Murray was measured in his response when asked to give his assessment of Doughty’s last two games.

MURRAY: “Drew has played with a great deal of `I want to do it’ (attitude). He wants to make a difference every time he’s on the ice, every shift. Sometimes you can get yourself into a little bit of a jackpot [trouble] when you go in with that attitude. I understand where he’s coming from, with the importance of him having the puck and trying to do a lot of good things with it, but when you come back after being out for a little while, it’s better sometimes to do less. Advance the puck, get it off your stick, get it to the forwards and let them screw up, instead of you. [smiles] But he’s got a couple games under his belt now. They were fast-paced games. They were back-to-back. At the end of the day, for me, his conditioning was really good. He feels confident battling along the boards. He has no hesitation whatsoever. I know his game is going to get to the level that we have seen in the past. We’ll just keep pushing here in practice and get ready for the next game. He’s ready to do good things for us.’’

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