Kuemper allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Coyotes shootout loss to the Sharks on opening night. Antti Raanta started Saturday’s game so Kuemper will be fresh to start a week where they will play the Golden Knights four times in seven days. Kuemper was 1-0-1 while stopping 74 of 76 shots (.974 SV%) in two games vs. Vegas last year.
Kuemper was 16-11-2 with a 2.22 GAA and .928 SV% in 29 games in 2020. Kuemper has been terrific over the last two seasons, posting a 2.29 GAA and .926 SV% in 84 starts. Kuemper is one of the best goalies in the league but has little help in front of him, which will limit his upside in 2021. In his only start vs. the Sharks a season ago, Kuemper stopped 26 of 28 shots in a winning effort.
Kuemper was lights out in Game 1, stopping 40 of the 43 shots that he faced as the Coyotes held onto an early lead to win Game 1 4-3. Kuemper is now 2-0 while stopping 63 of 68 shots (.927 SV%) in two starts vs. the Predators in 2020.
Kuemper allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Coyotes loss in Calgary on Friday. Since coming back from a lengthy injury absence, Kuemper has gone 1-2-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .929 SV% in three starts. Tonight he faces the Jets, who he has been terrific against over the last three years--winning three in a row while stopping 102 of the 108 shots (.944 SV%) that he's faced. As for Winnipeg, they're on a five-game home winning streak while averring 3.80 goals for and just 1.20 goals against per game.
Kuemper allowed two goals on 26 shots in the Coyotes loss to the Panthers last Tuesday. With Antti Raanta starting last Saturday, Kuemper has had over one week off. He was solid in his return from injury and is 9-2-1 with a 1.95 GAA and .933 SV% on the road this year. The Canucks are 12-2-1 while scoring 3.39 goals per game in their last 15 home games.
Tonight will be Darcy Kuemper's first start since December 19th. During his one-game AHL conditioning stint, Kuemper stopped 26 of 28 shots in a loss. Kuemper has gone 6-6-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .925 SV% on home ice this season and tonight he faces a Panthers team that is 3-7-1 while averaging 2.64 goals for and 3.82 goals against in their last 11 games.
Kuemper was supposed to return to the Coyotes net on Monday but suffered an injury in the morning skate. There is no word on how long Kuemper is expected to be sidelined this time around but luckily Antti Raanta is ready to go in Montreal.
Kuemper has been out since December 19th with a lower-body injury but was a full participant in Sunday’s practice and could be back in the crease on Monday. Kuemper is a game-time decision so monitor his status if the Coyotes have a morning skate if not there should be an update on his status around 5:00 PM ET.
Kuemper, who has missed the last 14 games, will miss Wednesday's game in Anaheim but head coach Rich Tocchet is encouraged by his progress. Tocchet said that the break "really helped with the rehab" and that Kuemper is nearing a return with each practice. Antti Raanta will continue to get the bulk of the starts but it looks like Kuemper will be back in the fold very soon.
Kuemper went down without contact and was forced to leave late in Thursday's loss to the Wild and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks. This is a huge blow for the Coyotes but Antti Raanta is a more than capable starter who will carry the water for the Coyotes moving forward. Don't expect to see Kuemper until early-January at the absolute earliest.
