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I feel like any time I talk about the NHL preseason, I say something along the lines of,  “I know it doesn’t matter; it’s just the preseason,” but the Los Angeles Kings are experiencing one of those moments when the preseason can be very consequential after star defenseman Drew Doughty went down with a nasty ankle injury on Wednesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Just before the halfway point of the first period, the Kings lost a faceoff in the offensive zone. Vegas broke out of their zone with forward Tanner Pearson leading the rush.

Doughty backchecked and attempted to angle Pearson just past the blue line, but when he went into the boards, he did so awkwardly with his ankle getting wrenched in a way that ankles were not intended to wrench.

Doughty left the game and didn’t return with what the team called a lower-body injury.

On Thursday, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli provided an update confirming that Doughty’s left ankle was fractured.

As Seravalli mentioned, there’s no timetable for Doughty’s return, but you’ve got to assume that he will be missing the start of the season. That’s a big deal, seeing as the Kings were one of the surprises of last season by finishing third in the Pacific Division.

Doughty is a big piece of that, considering he logs a lot of ice time, and in addition to being a key piece of the blueline for the Kings, he quarterbacks their top powerplay unit.

And if that wasn’t enough, a puck-moving D-man like him also plays a big role in transition and on offense, so yeah, even if he’s out for a few weeks, the the Kings will have a storm to weather early.

Others will have to step up if the Kings want to keep up with the presumed division front-runners in Edmonton, Vancouver, and Vegas from the start of the season.