Celebrated No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks struggling for No. 27 and No. 24 teams

January 12, 9:23 PMTampa Bay Lightning ExaminerKen Carpenter

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Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty were the toast of hockey in the spring of 2008, leading Canada to the World Junior Championship in May, and then going first and second in the NHL Entry Draft in June.

But from those heights, Stamkos and Doughty quickly fell to the reality of playing for the two worst teams in the NHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Los Angeles Kings tied for the bottom spot in the NHL standings in 2007-08, with Tampa Bay winning the draft lottery and the chance to select the high-scoring centerman Stamkos. The Kings took defenseman Doughty.

While Stamkos and Doughty have not had spectacular impacts, their teams are slightly improved -- the Kings (17-18-6) have 40 points and are 24th out of 30 NHL teams, while the Lightning (12-19-10, 34 points) are No. 27.

Celebrated teammates sevens months ago, the youngsters took the ice as rookie opponents Monday night as the Lightning faced the Kings in Los Angeles.

"I think we are both really excited to play each other," Doughty, 19, told The Associated Press before the game. "We don't really look at it like I went No. 2 and he went No.1 and it was a competition. We are just buddies are trying to get out there and do our best this season."

Stamkos, who turns 19 Feb. 7, was scratched for the first time this season prior to the Lightning's victory Friday at Anaheim but was back in the lineup last night. He has scored four goals and added 10 assists in 40 games with a -11 plus/minus rating. He leads NHL rookies with 84 shots on goal.

"I went from being a veteran guy on my junior team to the youngest guy here by about five years," Stamkos told NHL.com. "It's a different situation. I'm not the go-to guy. I'm not the savior of the team. I'm a guy that is going to chip in offensively and play solid defensively."

Doughty, who turned 19 Dec. 8, has three goals and nine assists from his blueline spot.