For the Los Angeles Kings, this season has been full of bright spots. Among them, the breakout year of Anze Kopitar, the great play from Ryan Smith and Rob Scuderi—the team’s main offseason acquisitions—and the surprising Scott Parse who got called up from Manchester not too long ago.
One of the brightest though has to be the way Wayne Simmonds has performed over the first part of the season. Through 19 games he has collected 11 points (5-6) and is on pace for a 20-20 season.
Not great numbers when compared to the league leaders, but definitely a lot more than was expected at the beginning of the year. Simmonds was expected to provide a little middleweight muscle to the Kings lineup, a role that has been missing since Sean Avery left.
Even though Simmonds has not dropped the gloves as often as he did last year, he has contributed tremendously on both ends of the ice. He leads the team with a plus/minus +11 to go along his 11 points.
Simmonds has played so well this year that he was rewarded with first line duty after Justin Williams got injured. Simmonds adjusted and responded well to new linemates Smyth and Kopitar, so well in ...
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Article written by Alonzo Maldonado
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