Late in the game's first period tonight on the road in the Lone Star State against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 15, Los Angeles Kings' starting goalie Darcy Kuemper suffered an upper-body injury on a collision in the crease with forward Mikko Rantanen.
Starting goalie Darcy Kuemper leaves the game for the Los Angeles Kings due to an apparent upper-body injury in the first period
The collision happened on a play where Rantanen was skating in front of the net when he bumped into Kuemper and the puck went in for Dallas. The Stars' goal was called back due to goalie interference in front of the net.
Darcy Kuemper has left the game after being bumped into by Mikko Rantanen 🤕
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 16, 2025
There was no call on the play besides Dallas' goal being waved off. pic.twitter.com/u2mIYIuZZb
No penalty for goalie interference was called on Rantanen, despite the goal being disallowed due to goalie interference in the crease.
Kuemper left the game after the collision with Rantanen at the top of the crease late in the opening frame in the first period vs. Dallas tonight. He was replaced in goal for the Kings by Anton Forsberg, who played the rest of the four minutes left in the opening frame in the first period vs. Dallas tonight.
He went down the tunnel after the collision with Rantanen with an apparent injury after Mikko collided with him in the head/neck area.
#31 Anton Forsberg is now in net.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 16, 2025
0-0 | 4:00 left in the First Period#GoKingsGo
Before exiting the game due to an upper-body injury, Kuemper made five saves on five shots on goal and three scoring chances for the Stars tonight (per Natural Stat Trick).
Forsberg didn't face any shots on goal in the four minutes he played in goal for the Kings at the end of the opening frame in the first period. The Kings and Stars were tied 0-0 on the scoreboard at the end of the first period.
Kuemper has registered a 10-6-6 record in 22 starts for the Kings this regular season, with a .916 save percentage, 2.21 goals against average, and two shutouts this fall. He's posted a save percentage above .930 and a goals against average below 2.00 in his last half-dozen starts for the Kings in the West with three wins for the team.
We will continue to monitor Kuemper's injury status for updates and reports as they come out in the next 24 hours for the Kings team.
*Update
According to a report from the LA Kings' PR account on X on Dec. 15, Kuemper "won't return" to the game tonight vs. Dallas on the road due to an "upper-body injury" he suffered in the first period.