Raising the bar

The Kings’ only forward acquisition during the summer was that of Alexei Ponikarovsky, a move essentially seen as replacing Alexander Frolov, who signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent. Frolov, though, was a former 30-goal scorer while Ponikarovsky has never quite risen above the level of consistent 20-goal scorer. Ponikarovsky’s main task will be to provide steady defensive play in a third-line role with Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds, but Terry Murray said he thinks Ponikarovsky’s offensive ceiling can be higher as well…

MURRAY: “I look at Ponikarovsky as a well-rounded player. He’s a guy who can score some goals and knows how to play the game on the checking side of it. Playing with Handzus, that is my checking line that is going to match up against top opponents on a fairly regular basis. To me, if they play the right way without the puck, they’re going to get many opportunities, and he has an opportunity there, with his shot, to put some pretty good numbers up. I’d like to see him be a 25-plus goal scorer this year. I think it’s possible. His size, and the way he skates and the shooting ability that he has, playing the game the right way he’s going to get a lot of opportunities.”