Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Surrenders five goals in loss
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Kuemper stopped five goals on 28 shots in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Oilers in Game 6. The sixth goal was an empty-netter.
Kuemper's dominant play down the stretch of the regular season unraveled in the playoffs. He allowed four or more goals in four of six playoff outings, losing the last four games to send the Kings to a fourth straight first-round exit against the Oilers. Still, Kuemper was a good fit for the Kings this season, and if the team retains a strong defensive structure in 2025-26, he'll be a reliable fantasy goalie once again even in his age-35 season.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Tending twine Thursday
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Kuemper will guard the cage on the road for Game 6 versus Edmonton, LA Kings' Insider Zach Dooley reports.
Kuemper has lost three straight games after giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead to open the series. In those losses, the 34-year-old netminder has sported a 3.41 GAA and .914 save percentage. Kuemper will need to find another level in Game 6, or the Kings will begin their offseason earlier than they were hoping.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Heroics not enough in Game 5
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Kuemper stopped 43 of 45 shots in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Oilers in Game 5. The third goal was an empty-netter.
Kuemper was the only reason the score was that close, but his heroics weren't enough. Mattias Janmark's tally early in the third period ended up deciding the game. It was the 11th goal Kuemper has allowed in the third period or overtime among the 18 tallies he's surrendered across five starts. The Oilers took some time to spark to life, but they've directed 128 shots on net over the last three contests, which is simply too much traffic for Kuemper to overcome. He'll likely get the nod again in Thursday's must-win Game 6 in Edmonton.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Slated to start
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Kuemper is expected to patrol the home crease in Game 5 against Edmonton on Tuesday, per Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.
Kuemper has lost his last two outings but stopped 44 of 48 shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers in Game 4. He has a 2-2 record with a 3.74 GAA and an .881 save percentage through four appearances this postseason. Edmonton ranks second in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 34.0 shots per game.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Falters late again in Game 4 loss
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Kuemper stopped 43 of 47 shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers in Game 4.
Kuemper had another bad third period. Of the 16 goals he's allowed in this series, 10 have come in the third period or overtime. That inability to close out games is unusual considering how good Kuemper was late in the regular season, which included a pair of shutout wins of the Oilers in April. Still, he's the Kings' No. 1 goalie, and it doesn't look like his role as the starter is in any danger heading into Game 5 back in Los Angeles.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Set to start Game 4
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Kuemper is expected to guard the road goal against Edmonton on Sunday in Game 4 after being the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Kuemper surrendered five goals on the 34 shots he faced in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Oilers in Game 3. The 34-year-old netminder has a 2-1 record with a 4.04 GAA and an .859 save percentage through three games this postseason.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Gives up five goals in loss
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Kuemper stopped 29 of 34 shots in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Oilers in Game 3.
The Kings held even for the majority of the game, but a bad sequence in the third period cost them a chance at going up 3-0 in the series. Evander Kane scored a goal that the Kings challenged and lost, allowing Evan Bouchard to score on the ensuing power play. Kuemper has won two of his three playoff outings so far, but he's given up 12 goals on 85 shots in the series, which isn't nearly good enough against such a dangerous offense. That said, he has earned the benefit of the doubt, so expect to see the 34-year-old between the pipes for Game 4 on Sunday.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Expected to start in Game 3
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Kuemper is set to start on the road against Edmonton in Game 3 on Friday, according to Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.
Kuemper has won the opening two games of the Kings' first-round series against the Oilers while stopping 44 of 51 shots (.863 save percentage). He's coming off a dominant regular season in which he posted a 31-11-7 record, 2.02 GAA and .921 save percentage across 50 appearances. Edmonton ranked 11th in goals per game with 3.16 during the regular season.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Cruises to Game 2 win
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Kuemper stopped 24 of 26 shots in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Oilers in Game 2.
The Kings' offense stayed consistent from their Game 1 win, and Kuemper was a little more dialed in this time around. With plenty of support, he had no trouble winning his second game in a row. The 34-year-old netminder will face a tougher task in the next two contests as the series shifts to Edmonton, beginning with Friday's Game 3.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Getting start in Game 2
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Kuemper will protect the home goal versus the Oilers in Wednesday's Game 2, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.
Kuemper will be looking for a better performance than in Game 1, where he got the win but gave up five goals on 25 shots. The 34-year-old had not allowed more than four goals in any of his last 18 regular-season appearances. The Oilers' offense is as dangerous as any, which will likely keep Kuemper on his toes throughout the first round.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Earns win in high-scoring affair
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Kuemper stopped 20 of 25 shots in Monday's 6-5 win over the Oilers in Game 1.
Kuemper was beaten four times in the final period, and at one point, it looked as if the Oilers were carrying all the momentum on their side heading to overtime until Phillip Danault stepped up and won it for the Kings. This was far from Kuemper's best outing, but there's a chance this was nothing more than an anomaly for the 34-year-old goaltender. After all, he posted a 31-11-7 record with a 2.02 GAA and a solid .921 save percentage across 50 appearances in the regular season.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Tending twine in Game 1
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Kuemper will defend the home crease in Monday's Game 1 against Edmonton, Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports.
Kuemper didn't appear in either of the Kings' final two games of the regular season, but he'll unsurprisingly be in the net to begin postseason play. He's been sharp over the past month and a half, going 13-3-0 with a 1.27 GAA and .946 save percentage over his final 16 appearances of the regular season.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Not starting after all
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Kuemper won't start in Thursday's home game against Calgary despite an earlier report to the contrary.
The Kings didn't specify why Kuemper isn't getting the start, but with the playoffs around the corner, they might just be resting him. He'll instead be the backup netminder Thursday, while David Rittich will get the nod. Kuemper has a 31-11-7 record, 2.02 GAA and .921 save percentage in 50 appearances this season.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Slated to start against Calgary
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Kuemper is expected to serve as the starting goalie for Thursday's home game against the Flames, John Hoven of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio reports.
Kuemper has picked up wins in six of his last seven appearances, going 6-1-0 with a 1.48 GAA and .942 save percentage. He got the night off Tuesday against the Kraken but will have a chance for a final tune-up before the playoffs Thursday. Kuemper started in Calgary on Nov. 11 and turned aside 25 of 27 shots (.926 save percentage) en route to a loss.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Strong vs. Edmonton
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Kuemper stopped the 16 shots he faced in Monday's 5-0 win over the Oilers.
Kuemper didn't have a lot of work throughout the game and cruised to his third straight win. However, he wasn't credited with a shutout because he was replaced by David Rittich midway through the third period. It doesn't appear that there was any injury-related reason for relieving Kuemper, so it seems the Kings were simply engaging in a bit of goalie workload management ahead of the playoffs. Kuemper is ending the regular season on a strong note and has won six of his previous seven starts, going 6-1-0 with a 1.48 GAA and an excellent .942 save percentage over that span.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Starting penultimate game
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Kuemper will guard the road cage Monday at Edmonton, Patrick O'Neal of Bally Sports West reports.
Kuemper will look for a rebound performance after allowing four goals in a loss to the Avalanche on Saturday. The four goals were the most he's allowed in a start since March 3 -- he went 15 games without allowing more than two goals. The Oilers will be without many key offensive pieces for this contest, so it's not a bad bet for a bounce-back performance. Kuemper will also get a good chance to get a look at some of the secondary shooters on the Kings' first-round playoff opponent.
Kuemper made 22 saves in a 5-4 win over Colorado on Saturday.
Despite uncharacteristic struggles in the defensive zone, the Kings still emerged victorious, but Kuemper's streak of starts allowing two goals or fewer ended at 15 games. Since the NHL expanded in 1967-68, Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff owns the longest streak at 16 games (2003-04), according to Dan Greenspan of NHL.com. Kuemper is having one of the best statistical seasons of his career. He's 30-11-7 with a 2.05 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Facing Avalanche
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Kuemper will patrol the home crease against Colorado on Saturday, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Kuemper is coming off a 24-save effort in Thursday's 6-1 win over Anaheim. He has a 29-11-7 record with five shutouts, a 2.01 GAA and a .922 save percentage through 48 appearances this season. Colorado sits fifth in the league with 3.31 goals per game in 2024-25, but the team is resting several integral offensive contributors in Saturday's matchup.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Back to winning ways
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Kuemper stopped 24 of 25 shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Ducks.
This was Kuemper's 15th straight game allowing two or fewer goals, a span in which he is 11-3-1. He bounced back from Monday's narrow loss to the Kraken, which was just his third in regulation on home ice this year. Kuemper is up to 29-11-7 with a 2.01 GAA and a .922 save percentage over 48 appearances this season. The Kings are likely to end up running into the Oilers in the first round for a fourth straight year, and it'll be on Kuemper to help them avenge three straight series losses. Before that, the Kings have four regular-season games to get through, including a home matchup versus the Avalanche on Saturday.
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Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Slated to start Thursday
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Kuemper is expected to guard the home crease versus Anaheim on Thursday, Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty reports.
Kuemper has been sensational in his last 14 appearances, as he has not allowed more than two goals in any of those games. Kuemper is 10-3-1 with a 1.21 GAA and a .949 save percentage since March 5, giving him a 28-11-7 record with a 2.03 GAA and a .921 save percentage across 47 contests this season. The Ducks are generating 2.71 goals per game, which ranks 27th in the NHL.
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