Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper was forced out of his team’s 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night following a first period collision.
Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski appeared to make contact with Kuemper’s head on a two on one rush late in the period. After initially appearing to be alright, the Kings netminder alerted officials a few moments later that he needed some time, before ultimately heading to the locker room with 38 seconds remaining in the period.
“I don’t have too much to share,” head coach Jim Hiller said. “We’ll probably know a little bit more tomorrow.”
There’s reason for concern if indeed it is a potential concussion related injury after Kuemper missed time in December following a hit to the head from Mikko Rantanen. Not only would an extended absence hurt LA’s goaltending depth, but it could also have ramifications for Team Canada at next month’s Olympic Games in Italy.
The 35 year old is one of 3 goaltenders that the Canadian side planned on bringing to the Winter Games alongside Jordan Binnington, and Logan Thompson.
“From what I’m gathering, I don’t think that’s going to be the case,” Hiller said. “I don’t know enough for sure, so I really shouldn’t comment, but I did have a chance to speak to him quickly, and it seemed like he was doing OK from that perspective.”
Across 32 appearances, Kuemper is 12-9-9 on the season with a 2.52 GAA and .904 SV%. A 14 year veteran, the Saskatoon native is in his second year with the Kings after stints with the Wild, Coyotes, Avalanche, and Capitals. Kuemper spent part of the 2017-18 season with LA going 10-1-3 with a 2.10 GAA and .932 SV%.
The Kings are currently in 5th place in the tightly packed Pacific Division, but are tied with the Sharks and Ducks in points (53) despite being ranked behind them due to tie breakers. LA won’t need to make an immediate decision on Kuemper’s availability as the team is off until Saturday when they kick off a 6 game road trip against the St. Louis Blues.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.