Frustrated Frolov won’t make the trip to San Jose

Alexander Frolov, shelved by his second successive groin injury, did not make the trip Tuesday to San Jose for the Kings’ game tonight against the Sharks.

It will be Frolov’s third consecutive missed game because of a balky right groin, which the 25-year-old left wing pulled after suffering a similar injury to the left leg.

“I hate . . . not playing,” Frolov said while viewing Tuesday’s practice from outside the glass. “I’m really frustrated.”

Frolov played through the first injury without missing any games, aided by a rare six-day team layoff this month. He recovered from that injury, he said, “then, in the very next game, [against] Anaheim, I stepped on a puck and pulled my right groin.”

He played several games after that before “it got worse” and the team “shut me down.”

Frolov now spends his days with the trainers, working to strengthen the muscles surrounding the groin, and riding the stationary bicycle. “There’s no sense going on the ice . . . and making it worse,” he said.

Left wing Scott Thornton, on the injured reserve list with a bruised sternum, took the ice briefly at the end of practice, but neither he nor Frolov will play until this weekend at the earliest, Coach Marc Crawford said.

This will be the Kings’ second game at San Jose’s HP Pavilion in four days and their fourth against the Sharks this month.

“It gets old,” said rookie defenseman Jack Johnson. Seeing an opponent so much makes it “easier not to like each other.” On the other hand, he added, “you get to know [the Sharks’] tendencies.”

Knowing opponents’ tendencies, however, is not necessarily a help, Kings goaltender Jason LaBarbera said. “I don’t want to be thinking [too much] about their traits,” he said. “The less I think about, the better.”

Jon Klemm, who played forward Sunday against the Ducks in his first game after being called up from Manchester, will shift to his normal defense position tonight, Crawford said.

“I’m excited to be here,” said Klemm, who practiced on defense Tuesday. “Hopefully, I can stick around for a while.”

Klemm will help fill in for Jaroslav Modry, gone for an indefinite period to be with his sick father in the Czech Republic.

TONIGHT

at San Jose, 7:30, FSN West

Radio -- 1150.

Site -- HP Pavilion.

Records -- Kings 9-13-1, Sharks 11-8-3.

Record vs. Sharks -- 2-1.

Update -- The Kings will be going for their third win at HP Pavilion this month. “We have a good comfort level there,” Crawford said.

joel.greenberg@latimes.com