Some drama early in the crease for the Los Angeles Kings against the New York Rangers after their star goaltender, Darcy Kuemper, left the game with 38 seconds remaining in the first period after some contact in the crease by the Rangers.
Darcy Kuemper's night came to an abrupt end late in the first period against the New York Rangers after he denied the Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski on a breakaway shot. The two made contact in the crease, and while it didn't look serious at first, with Kuemper walking on his own, he eventually left the ice and headed into the locker room.
Anton Forsberg replaced him for the last few seconds of the period. Forsberg will lead the team out for the second period as Kuemper is officially ruled out tonight due to an upper-body injury, with the Kings up 3-2 currently early in the second period.
It's now the second time this season that Kuemper has exited a game early; the last time was on Dec. 15 against the Dallas Stars, when he left again with an upper-body injury and missed some time, ultimately returning early January against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Despite backup goaltender Anton Forsberg posting a solid 7-6-4 record with a .903 save percentage, it's still important for the Kings to get healthy and prepare for their six-game road trip that starts Saturday.
The 35-year-old clearly hasn't been durable this season, but when he's been on ice, the star goalie has done his job, posting a 12-9-9 record with a .905 save percentage, though he's played only 31 games.
But it's still very important for Kuemper to stay healthy, because he'll be part of the Canadian roster for the Winter Olympics this season. Constantly getting injured in the middle of games can't be an option when he's playing in the Winter Olympics.
Playing in his first-ever Winter Olympics, it will be a big accomplishment if the Canadian goaltender can capture his first Olympic gold medal for his hometown.
Also, with the Kings playing playoff hockey for the rest of the season, looking to qualify for the postseason, it's going to be important for Los Angeles to have their star goalie in this late stretch.
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