Darcy Kuemper is back from injury. The Los Angeles Kings have activated him and sent Pheonix Copley back to the minors. This means Kuemper might play against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
Kuemper was injured with a lower-body problem during a rough game against the Ottawa Senators on October 14. Before getting hurt, he played really well, stopping 56 out of 59 shots in games against the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins, achieving an impressive .949 save percentage. But things went downhill when he let in eight goals on 41 shots against Ottawa in an overtime loss.
The team’s goalkeeping has been inconsistent while Kuemper was away. David Rittich and Copley allowed 14 goals over four games, but most of those came in just two matches against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights . If Kuemper is fully recovered, fans hope he can help improve their current record of three wins, two losses, and two overtime losses.
Goalie Shuffle:
Copley didn’t start any games for the Kings during his short stint but did step in for Rittich during a loss to the Maple Leafs on October 16th. He managed to block 10 out of 12 shots over about half an hour of playtime, ending up with a .833 save percentage and a goals-against average of 4.37. Now he’s heading back to play for the AHL’s Ontario Reign team, where they’ve been letting in four goals per game using three different goalies.
Fans might be curious if this change will make a big difference for the Kings’ season start or if more surprises are coming their way! What do you think?
