Injuries force recalls
The injury bug continues to hit the LA Kings as they have placed forward Dustin Brown and star defenseman Drew Doughty on Injured Reserve. Jaret Anderson-Dolan has been loaned to the Ontario Reign for non-injury-related purposes.
The call-ups from the Ontario Reign are forwards Gabe Vilardi and Martin Frk. Defenseman Austin Strand has also been recalled to the NHL.
This year, Gabe Vilardi has been tearing it up in the American Hockey League, recording 38 points in 39 games, including nine in his last ten. Vilardi appeared in the NHL with the Kings for the first seven games of the season but was later sent down due to performance-related issues.
Martin Frk has 58 points and 31 goals in the AHL after 46 games played. The 28-year-old played in two NHL games this year, where he scored a goal.
Austin Strand, who’s played like an NHLer at the big league level, has two assists in four games in the NHL this year and seven points in 32 AHL games this year.
With Drew Doughty suffering a wrist injury in a game against the Boston Bruins on Monday, he hasn’t played since and has been slow to get back on ice.
Dustin Brown took a shot from Jordan Spence in last night’s game against the San Jose Sharks and immediately skated off the ice.
Gabe Vilardi will look to stay hot in the NHL and will use this as a chance to prove that he is indeed ready for a full-time role with the LA Kings.
Martin Frk and Austin Strand will serve as great placeholders for Dustin Brown and Matt Roy (who were also hurt against the Sharks).
Hopefully, we will get a chance to see Martin Frk use his deadly one-timer on the powerplay, and some of the injured players heal up soon. With six players on IR (excluding Alex Edler and Sean Walker), it isn’t favorable that some of the critical pieces of this roster are hurt and won’t help the team in this crucial stretch of games.
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