As the Kings prepare to open up their first round series against the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth straight year on April 21st, one thing will be dramatically different this time around: Darcy Kuemper.
For the first time since the days of franchise legend, Jonathan Quick, the Kings will have a netminder in place that is capable of stealing games or even an entire series with his play. However, in the three previous series with Edmonton, that wasn’t the case for the LA Kings.
In the 2021-22 series, LA was backed by future Hall of Famer and all-time winningest American-born goaltender, Jonathan Quick. Although LA would eventually push the Oilers to seven games, Quick did not play at the level of his previous playoff performances. He finished the series with a save percentage of .904 and a goals against average of 3.43, far off his career playoff numbers with the Kings. In 92 career playoff games with Los Angeles, Quick posted a .921 SV% and a 2.26 GAA. Of course, Quick’s gold standard took place in 2012 on LA’s first Cup run when he dropped a .946% and a microscopic 1.41 GAA.
On June 11, 2012, the @LAKings were crowned Stanley Cup champions after a 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Jonathan Quick was named playoff MVP, and Dustin Brown became the first player in #LAKings history to lift the Stanley Cup.#GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/Qa1lLzvysA
— The Kingstorian (@Kingstorian) June 11, 2024
The post-Quick versions of the Kings-Oilers playoff matchup have seen the Kings try to play around subpar goaltending. Not an ideal situation when facing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
In 2022-23, for example, LA started both Joonas Korpisalo and Pheonix Copley, eventually losing again to the Oilers in six games. Both goalies posted numbers that were well inferior to Quick’s. Korpisalo registered a .892 SV% and a GAA of 3.77 and Copley was even worse: .750 SV% and a GAA of 4.26. Not remotely good enough to beat anybody in the playoffs, let alone the Oilers.
Last year’s battle with Edmonton would see LA go with Cam Talbot in net. After a very solid regular season campaign, Talbot was unable to elevate his game against the Oilers. Talbot started three games against Edmonton and posted a .861 SV% and a GAA of 5.30, while Dave Rittich had a .872 SV% and a GAA of 2.56. Thus, similar to the previous year’s series, neither goalie was capable of stealing a game for the Kings.
This year, however, could be an entirely different story. Darcy Kuemper is coming off one of the best regular seasons of this career. In addition to a 15-game streak of allowing two goals or fewer, the second longest streak since the NHL expanded in 1967-68, Kuemper finished the year with a stingy 2.02 GAA.
With his 27-save shutout victory, Darcy Kuemper has allowed two or fewer goals in 13 consecutive starts and is just the fifth goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era to accomplish such feat, per @NHLPR. pic.twitter.com/scQ7Itst7Y
— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) April 5, 2025
More importantly, Kuemper has shown an ability to consistently make tough saves, something that could help LA win a game or two that they have no business winning. As per NHL Edge, Kuemper leads the league with a high-danger shot save percentage of .863. His career playoff numbers are also superior to the goalies from the previous two series. Overall, Kuemper has a career .908 SV% and a GAA of 2.72, including a 9.02 SV% and a 2.57 GAA during Colorado’s successful Stanley Cup run in 2021-22.
While many factors come into play in deciding which team eventually wins a seven-game series, the numbers and the eye test show that the LA Kings should feel very confident about playing in front of Darcy Kuemper this year.
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