Doughty pays Weber respect; Kings aware of Preds’ style

The Nashville Predators are in town for the first of their two Staples Center visits tomorrow afternoon, which means Kings fans will be treated to an exhibition that features two of the top goaltenders in the sport in Jonathan Quick and Pekka Rinne and two of the top defensemen in Drew Doughty and Shea Weber.

Arguments could be made that both Quick and Rinne and Doughty and Weber are the two very best players in the league at their position, but that’s not a debate that’ll be settled right now. Instead, let’s talk about Doughty and Weber, a power play pairing for Canada’s gold medal-winning men’s hockey team at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Clearly, the presence of Weber, who at 29 is only four years Doughty’s senior, rubbed off on the Kings defenseman.

“Whenever we play at those kinds of tournaments together, he’s one of the guys I hang out with a lot. He’s a great guy, a really good guy. He’s a good professional as well, a good leader and he’s someone you can really look up to,” Doughty said. “For myself in those tournaments, I looked up to him and watched what he did in practice just to kind of see. Obviously try to, one day, get my shot as hard as his but I don’t think it’ll ever happen. He’s a great player, great guy and he’s a big reason as to why their team is doing well.”

It’s not a shock to learn that respect is being paid to Shea Weber’s shot. Weber, Nashville’s captain, can beat goalies cleanly from the blue line, and a shot of his during off-season workouts put a hole in the end boards, according to teammate Seth Jones.

If you think Shea Weber doesn't shoot hard, you better think again. He only put a hole in the boards today… #bomb pic.twitter.com/x5OG3WjF52

— Seth Jones (@seth_jones3) August 21, 2014

But, Drew, certainly your shot is the hardest on the Kings, right?

“I don’t think it’s me. I think there is probably Marty and Muzz who are probably harder, maybe Greener too,” Doughty said. “My shot’s not that hard. I wish it was harder.”

Back to the Predators, who the Kings face for the first time since Los Angeles dropped a 4-3 shootout decision at Bridgestone Arena on November 25, a game in which Doughty skated his way through three Nashville skaters and Pekka Rinne before scoring on an end-to-end rush. The Preds sit second in the powerful Central Division with a 24-9-3 record and lead the NHL with a .708 points percentage.

“They obviously have a pretty good defense,” Doughty said. “Their goalie is very, very good, having a very good season. They’re a good team. They play the right way. They work hard. They get on the forecheck. We’ve got to shut them down. They obviously have Weber on the back end who is a great player and tough to play against. We’ve got to pay special attention to him. They’re a good team. We’ve got to win.”

Forward Justin Williams, who won a Stanley Cup with Nashville’s coach in 2006 while with the Carolina Hurricanes, is well aware of the style of play to expect Saturday afternoon.

“It’s speed, it’s an exciting team. It’s a Peter Laviolette team. A team that’s up tempo and a team that’s going to force you to make mistakes,” Williams said. “Be relentless, never let up. We need to push back.”