Kings' Darcy Kuemper leaves game with upper-body injury

Kuemper sustained the injury late in the first period of the game when Sam Carrick attempted to set up Jonny Brodzinski with a cross-crease pass. Cody Ceci made a great stick play to deflect the puck into the corner, and Brodzinski crashed into Kuemper, pushing the netminder into the post.

Kuemper proceeded to skate around the ice for a minute or so to test out the injury and see if he could play, but ultimately left the game. He did not return, with the the Kings confirming his departure from the game during the second period.

Kuemper left the game having allowed two goals on eight shots for a .750 save percentage, with the game tied 2-2 at the time of his departure.

At this point in time, there are no further details on Kuemper’s injury, or how long he is expected to be out of the lineup. If the injury is severe, it will likely be known within the next couple days, but if it’s day-to-day, the Kings don’t play again until Saturday on the road against the St. Louis Blues, so that will give Kuemper a few days to recover.

Kuemper has already missed eight games this season, including six in December due to an upper-body injury. It’s not confirmed if his current upper-body injury is related to the previous one in December.

Kuemper has continued to be solid for the Kings when healthy, entering Tuesday’s game with a 12-9-9 record, a .905 SV%, two shutouts and a 12.2 5v5 goals saved above expected in 31 games.

Anton Forsberg was the backup for the Kings on Tuesday, and replaced Kuemper for the remainder of the game. Forsberg entered the game with a 7-6-4 record, a .903 SV%, one shutout and a 7.41 5v5 GSAx in 16 games.

Should Kuemper miss significant time with his injury, Pheonix Copley will likely be the player recalled to backup Forsberg, as he did so the last time Kuemper was hurt. Copley has a 0-1-0 record, an .893 SV% and a -0.53 5v5 GSAx in his lone game with the Kings, along with a 10-9-0 record and .888 SV% in 19 games in the AHL with the Ontario Reign.