The Los Angeles Kings had a tough task ahead of them on Thursday night as they were set to play the Washington Capitals at Crypto.com Arena. It was a game filled with underlying storylines as Alex Ovechkin chased Wayne Gretzky, former Kings were returning to Los Angeles in Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matt Roy but at the end of the night, the biggest story was Darcy Kuemper.
The Kings goalie was set to play his former team as he was the player that was traded to Los Angeles when the Kings moved Dubois last offseason. On Thursday night, the Capitals probably wish they had Kuemper in front of their net as he would secure his third shutout of the season and save all 21 shots he faced.
While it is his third shutout of the season, this is arguably his best performance of the season because the Washington Capitals are an excellent offensive team. In fact, entering Thursday they were the highest scoring team in the entire NHL.
This was only the second time all season that the Capitals were unable to score a goal but the last time it happened was on October 26th. In the three games prior to this one, the Capitals were having no issue scoring goals with 16 in that stretch.
Darcy Kuemper this season is 21-8-7 with a save percentage of .916 and a goals against average of 2.23, which is over one goal against per game improvement from last season with the Capitals. The Kings were looking for a replacement for Cam Talbot, who left in free agency, and they certainly got that and more with Kuemper.
After the game, Kuemper was asked if this game carried any extra meaning against his former team. According to Zach Dooley with LA Kings Insider, Kuemper said:
"You know, it wasn’t really about playing the old team tonight, it was about playing one of the best teams in the league. We wanted to be at our best and I thought we were. Those are the kind of wins that make the group feeling good."
There is no question that the Kings were at their best on Thursday night. It was a big game that continues to help them move up the standings in the Pacific Division. However, Kuemper is a big reason for the Kings to be in the position they are in and why they are able to get these kind of wins.