Once again, Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo get to share a stage. In 2006 and 2007, they went head-to-head in the Ontario Hockey League, as two rising-star junior-hockey defensemen. In 2008, they were drafted just a few minutes apart, Doughty at No. 2 by the Kings and Pietrangelo at No. 4 by the St. Louis Blues. Now, they’re in the second round of the playoffs together, two 22-year-old, big-minute defensemen who will go a long way toward determining which team goes to the Western Conference Finals.
Pietrangelo, who turned 22 in January, has totaled 97 points in 177 career NHL regular-season games and is participating in his first NHL postseason. Doughty, who has totaled 162 points in 316 regular-season games, spoke well of his contemporary.
DOUGHTY: “I played against him a bit in the OHL, and then obviously in the NHL. I think he has become a pretty good player overall. He’s really good offensively, and at the same time I think he’s a pretty sound defensive defenseman too. It’s great to see that he’s doing well. In this series, he’s going to be a key guy for us to try to take out of the game.’’
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