Midseason Grades for Each Line on the Los Angeles Kings

As the Los Angeles Kings have gone through many ups and downs this season, so too have the players in the lineup. 

The major examples of consistency include Anze Kopitar on the top line, Drew Doughty playing nearly half the game and Jonathan Quick starting in goal. Darryl Sutter has shuffled the lines often because of both injuries and performance. 

With that said, there is a big enough sample size to evaluate each line's performance. These are the midseason grades for each L.A. line.

Line 1

Juan Ocampo/Getty Images

Grade: B

As previously stated, Kopitar is the constant on this line, as always. He underperformed early in the season but is rolling now. He has 21 points in his last 12 games. His total on the season? Thirty-four points in 40 games.

Yeah, he's on fire. 

When Marian Gaborik is healthy, he adds another element to the line that few players in the league could provide, with linemate Jeff Carter perhaps being one of those players. When these three are clicking, they can produce offensive chances at an impressive rate at even strength. 

They are fast, have great hands and can develop plays off the rush and cycle. If they were together all year, the grade would almost certainly be an A.

Line 2

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Grade: B-

For much of the first quarter of the season, this line was known as That 70s Line and had Jeff Carter centering youngsters Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson. The trio scored early and often, continuing where they left off in the postseason, but eventually, they ran into a cold stretch.

Now, Pearson is out with a broken leg, and Toffoli has been sidelined with mono. 

The line trended down, while the top line trended up—inconsistency being the hurdle it needed to overcome. Still, Toffoli remains in a tie for third on the team with 27 points, while Pearson's 12 goals rank highly as well. 

Most recently, the line is made up of solid two-way forwards in Dustin Brown, Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams, also known as the third line. 

Line 3

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Grade: C

Jarret Stoll has been a constant in recent years centering the third line, while Justin Williams and Dustin Brown often found themselves with Kopitar on the first line. Now the trio form the third—sometimes second—line for L.A. 

They provide some secondary scoring—Brown and Williams each have three points in their last five games—but mostly, they shut down the opposition. 

Stoll is winning 52.6 percent of his draws, which helps to win the puck-possession battle. Brown adds a physical dimension and takes a spot around the net, while Williams works hard on the wing to generate turnovers and keep opposing forwards to the outside. 

To improve its grade, this line needs to find the back of the net more often, particularly when it is playing second-line minutes. 

Line 4

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Grade: C

The fourth line may be the least consistent of all in terms of who's on it. It has included Mike Richards and Trevor Lewis at center and Kyle Clifford, Dwight King and Tyler Toffoli on the wings, among others. 

As far as fourth lines in the NHL go, this one has performed at average. The problem is it has above-average fourth-line players, such as Richards, King and Toffoli. It should be more of a factor than it has been. For example, Richards has appeared in all 43 games but has just 14 points, three of which came on the power play. King has 12 points and Clifford has eight so far.

If nothing else, this line needs to do a better job physically. It should overwhelm whatever line it is out against on the forecheck and in the defensive zone. 

Stats courtesy of NHL.com.