The Los Angeles Kings appear to be preparing for an immediate future without defenseman Alec Martinez.
Martinez suffered an undisclosed injury Thursday in the Kings' Game 1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, playing only 11:43. He wasn't on the bench in the third period and the Kings have been mum on his status.
On Friday, Los Angeles recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from the American Hockey League's Ontario Reign, which means Martinez may not be able to play Saturday.
Martinez's loss would be a big one. He averaged 21:09 a game in the regular season and added a career-high 31 points. With Martinez out most of Thursday, Drew Doughty's ice time shot up to a game-high 29:19, while Jake Muzzin played 25:57.
Defensive depth has been an issue for the Kings this season and Sutter addressed it at practice Friday, according to Kings Insider's Jon Rosen.
"We've used a lot of guys. If you look over the course of the year, we've used, what is it now, 12? Whatever it is," Sutter said. "I don't know, count. I'm not really sure. We've used a lot of the kids ... So we've used a lot of guys. It's the toughest position, but hey, you still need them to give you, whether it's 10 minutes or 15 minutes, they've got to be quality. That's when you say, 'What did I think about it,' that’s what I base it on, is how they play."
Sutter admitted that going down to five defensemen affected his team Thursday night.
"The second period, it was clearly the difference in our game," he said. "That's because it's hard. You've rather spread (ice time) out as much as you can, but when you're top-heavy with a guy like (Doughty) and (Muzzin) and those guys, they're going to have to play more. That's going to be our best chance of winning."
Doughty played 28:01 a game during the regular season, the second-highest average of his career. That number may continue to push 30, as the Sharks are a handful up front.
Gravel, 24, has played five games in his career, all this season, and has yet to register a point. He has seven goals and 13 assists in 55 games in the minors.
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