In what was already a shorthanded night for the Kings heading into their matchup against the Stars, after their two centers were sidelined due to illness, the night got even more heartbreaking when their star goalie, Darcy Kuemper, went down, and the Kings never fully recovered.
The Los Angeles Kings unraveled with a plethora of problems coming into this game, first with Quinton Byfield and Phillip Danault missing tonight's game, and then their best player, Darcy Kuemper, going down with a hard-hit injury, turning the momentum in the Stars' favor into a lopsided score.
Dallas scored three goals in the final six minutes of the third period to break the tie and pull away with a 4-1 win, handing Los Angeles another frustrating loss against a Western Conference contender.
Breaking News: Kings Travel To Dallas, Missing Key Players
Hours before puck drop in Dallas, illness forces a shakeup in the Kings' lineup today, leaving Los Angeles without two of their trusted options in the middle against a tough Western Conference team tonight.
Kuemper’s Injury Becomes a Concern
The turning point may have come before the scoreboard.
Midway through the first period, when the game was still 0-0, both teams were playing very good defense, and the Kings were playing with fight. Kuemper went down in the crease after contact near the head and neck area from Mikko Rantanen during a traffic scramble around the net.
Despite the hard contact, no penalty was called on Dallas, which was hard to understand given the amount of contact on the play, and the refs' inability to take their time and make the right call.
The explanation was that Kuemper was outside the crease, but the replay clearly shows he's in the blue paint, head contact, and still no penalty was called.
Kuemper remained down on the ice for a while and ultimately was helped off the floor and left the game, not returning for the remainder of the night. Anton Forsberg was Kuemper's replacement and did a solid job at the start, but the injury changed the tone for the Kings.
Before Kuemper went down, he stopped all five shots that came at him, including multiple shots from Rantanen and Nils Lundkvist.
Kings’ Kuemper Leaves Game After Collision With Stars’ Rantanen
Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper left the game against the Dallas Stars following a collision with right winger Mikko Rantanen.
Kings Strike First, But Can’t Hold On
Despite losing their goaltender, the Kings scored the first goal early in the second period. Andrei Kuzmenko capitalized on the Dallas giveaway to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead.
The Kings maintained a steady pace and outshot Dallas at times, but failed to capitalize. The inability to extend the lead and make it competitive at least came back to haunt them.
Dallas got back in the game when Matt Duchene scored the first goal for the Stars in the second period to tie it 1-1 heading into the third.
Late Collapse Seals It
For much of the third period, Forsberg was doing a good job of preventing Dallas’ offense from breaking through, but the Stars' depth eventually made it tough for Forsberg to stop.
Oskar Back gave the Stars their first lead, converting off the nice cycle play by Radek Faksa and Colin Blackwell. From then on, the floodgates opened.
In the final three minutes, Dallas scored two straight goals to seal the deal with a 4-1 win.
Big Picture
The Kings showed fight when Kuemper was on the ice before his injury, but the late injury led to the breakdown for Los Angeles. Right now, that’s the most concerning part for the Kings, not just their performance, but the uncertainty surrounding Kuemper’s health.
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