Former Avalanche Cup Champion Finally Looks Like Himself Again — But It Still Wasn’t Enough

Darcy Kuemper finally looked like himself again. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Kings, it still wasn’t enough.

The former Colorado Avalanche goaltender and 2022 Stanley Cup champion stopped 26 of 28 shots Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, but the Kings lost 2-1. After giving up eight goals to Colorado in the season opener and then watching Anton Forsberg get the start against San Jose, Kuemper was back in net and gave Los Angeles a much-needed performance.

Kuemper was solid from the start and made several big saves as the game went on. It was a much different showing from the season opener, and for a night, he looked more like the goaltender who was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2024-25.

The Kings gave him an early lead to work with.

Alex Laferriere made it 1-0 late in the first period, putting home a rebound after Erik Haula created the chance from behind the net. Los Angeles had a chance to add another goal in the second when Florida took two penalties, including 66 seconds of five-on-three, but the Kings couldn't score.

That ended up hurting them.

Just six seconds after the final penalty expired, Seth Jones tied the game for Florida. From there, the Kings had trouble generating much offensively. They finished 0-for-5 on the power play, while their penalty kill went 6-for-6.

Florida eventually took the lead in the third period. A turnover in the neutral zone sent the Panthers the other way, and Matthew Tkachuk beat Kuemper with 8:40 remaining. Los Angeles pushed for the equalizer and pulled Kuemper late, but Florida held on.

Kuemper played well enough to win. He just didn't get enough help in front of him.

Through two starts, Kuemper is 0-2 with a 5.11 goals-against average and a .825 save percentage. Those are rough numbers, especially for a goaltender who is trying to get his starting job back.

Kuemper has been here before, though. He was in net for Colorado when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022, and he followed that up with a Vezina Trophy finalist finish in 2024-25. The Kings signed him expecting that version of Kuemper.

So far, they haven't gotten it consistently.

His situation became even more interesting last season when he lost the starting job to Forsberg down the stretch. Forsberg went on to start every game of the Kings' first-round playoff series, which ended with Los Angeles being swept by Kuemper's former team, the Avalanche.

Now Kuemper is trying to get his crease back.

Tuesday was at least a step in the right direction. He stopped 26 of 28 shots and kept Los Angeles within a goal until the final minutes. The Kings couldn't find enough offense to get him the win, but this was the kind of performance Kuemper needed.

The challenge now is doing it again.