Breakaway on SI

Kings Goalie Named Third Star of Week

The Los Angeles Kings are on a run, and their goalie is largely to thank.

Jon Alfano

Dec 19, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Dec 19, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
In this story:

Back in June, the Los Angeles Kings acquired goaltender Darcy Kumper from the Washington Capitals in exchange for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, a move many saw as two teams pawning off bad contracts.

Turns out, the deal has surprisingly worked out for both teams and players. Dubois has revived himself in Washington, emerging as a key playmaker for one of the most surprising teams in the league. On the other side, Kuemper has revived his career in his second stint with Los Angeles, currently boasting an 11-2-5 record, a .918 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average in 19 games.

Perhaps nothiing illustrated Kuemper's revival more than this past week, as though the Kings only played two games, he was absolutely outstanding in both of them. First, Kuemper posted a 33-save shutout in Wednesday's 3-0 win against the New Jersey Devils, helping the Kings win the first NHL game of the new year. Then on Saturday, he stopped 33 of 34 shots in a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, guiding the Kings to a win despite being badly outshot.

Between the two games, Kuemper finished the week with a .985 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average. As a result, the NHL named Kuemper its third star of the week on Monday afternoon.

This is the fourth time in Kuemper's career that he's been one of the three stars of the week, with the most recent coming in April of 2019 as a member of the Arizona Coyotes. He's had his ups and downs since then, between winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche and being shipped out of Washington, but it looks like the 34-year-old is trending in the right direction once again.

Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi and Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry were named the first and second stars of the week, respectively.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Published
Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Home/News Feed Page