LA Kings: Second line is critical to team scoring more goals

Martin Frk

A big reason why Gabe Vilardi was so successful in the small sample size was that he was on the same line with Martin Frk. The duo played together in Ontario, so it naturally made sense to put them on the same line with the Kings.

The former second-round pick of the 2012 Draft got a long look with Detroit in 2017-2018, tallying 11 goals with 14 assists in 68 games. Now 27, he has the hardest shot record at the AHL All-Star game and not a heckuva lot of NHL time since his time in Detroit.

He played a couple of games at the end of December, one in January, before becoming a regular in the middle of February. In his first game with the Kings, he tallied two goals and finished with 6 goals and 2 assists in 17 games.

Frk has gone on record that he desires to score 30 goals next season, which would obviously be huge for the Kings. He won’t provide much in the defensive zone, so LA will need all they can get from Frk offensively. That means scoring in 5v5 situations and the power play.

I see a more realistic 20-goal, 12-ish assist season in store for Frk.

Conclusion

So among the three, we’re looking at a combined 55 goals and 57 assists from the second line, if all pan out to their projections. And for what it’s worth, those numbers are what the Kings’ first line put up in a COVID-shortened season last year.