It was a pretty uneventful game on Saturday night between the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators until overtime, when Quinton Byfield scored the first and only goal of the night to give the Kings the 1-0 win. There were a number of reasons for the low-scoring game, but both goalies deserve a lot of credit for keeping their teams in the game.
For the Kings, Darcy Kuemper was excellent as he stopped all 24 shots he faced from the Predators and has essentially been unbeatable as of late. This would now be his second consecutive shutout and according to Russell Morgan, it is the first time a Kings' goalie has accomplished that since Darcy Kuemper did it himself during the 2017-18 season.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for his second straight shutout and 200th career win.
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) March 16, 2025
He’s the first Kings player since himself to record back-to-back shutouts (2017-18).
Kuemper started with the Kings that season as the backup to Jonathan Quick but would be traded to the Arizona Coyotes prior to the trade deadline after going 10-1-3. In that short period, Darcy Kuemper had consecutive shutout victories on the road against Dallas at the end of January and then shut out the Coyotes, the team he would be traded to a few weeks later, in his very next start.
Los Angeles Kings needed Darcy Kuemper on a night they didn't have their best performance
There is no question that the Los Angeles Kings didn't look great pretty much anywhere else on the ice. It was an ugly game that had plenty of turnovers, penalties, and few scoring chances for them. After the game, Mikey Anderson was asked about Darcy Kuemper's performance, and according to Zach Dooley with LA Kings Insider he said:
"Those are big momentum changes, right? If it goes in then maybe they’re feeling it, we go on our heels, kind of anytime throughout a game. He’s made some big ones when we need it to keep us in it if we’re down. He’s been awesome."
The Kings have needed Kuemper to shut down those big momentum changes when they have come the past two games. On Saturday it remained tied through three periods but against the Washington Capitals, the Kings only had a one goal lead until the third period when they finally scored the second goal of the night.
In either of those games, if the game becomes tied or the Kings fall behind it feels like a very different outcome. However, as each of those games have gone on the Kings can play their game and grind it out for the win.
The Kings are going to need more of these games from Darcy Kuemper but if he can deliever, they are going to be a very tough team to beat.