Darcy Kuemper’s first night back in the Kings’ net turned into a disaster fast, and it left Peter Laviolette with a goaltending problem before October really got going.
Los Angeles opened the season Wednesday at Ball Arena, and Kuemper was beaten eight times on 29 shots. Four of those goals came on the power play as Colorado rolled through a Kings team that has had little luck against the Avalanche for a while now.
To be fair, the night was rough for more than just the goalie. The Kings had defensive lapses all over the ice, and Colorado cashed in on nearly every one. But Kuemper’s preseason issues didn’t disappear when the games started to count, and that makes Laviolette’s choice to start him look even bigger in hindsight.
That decision is now the central question. Kuemper had struggled in the preseason, while Forsberg had already shown he could handle Colorado. Still, when the regular season arrived, Laviolette went with the pricier, more established option.
The payoff was an eight-goal opener and a Kings team already searching for answers.
The case for Forsberg is easy to make. Against Colorado in the four-game playoff series, he allowed 3.25 goals per game and, even in a sweep, gave Los Angeles a chance to hang around. Mackenzie Blackwood, by comparison, gave up four goals in his season debut Wednesday.
There is also the money angle. Kuemper is the Kings’ $5.25 million goaltender, while Forsberg makes $2.25 million.
That may well have been part of the thinking. If it was, the result is what matters now.
When a move like that ends in an opening-night blowout, the scrutiny comes right away.
Laviolette made the call, and now he’s the one who has to answer for it. Whatever comes next, the Kings’ goaltending picture has suddenly become one of the biggest stories of their early season.
They won’t have long to sit on it. Los Angeles heads to San Jose on Saturday to face Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks, and Laviolette gets his first chance to react to what went wrong in Colorado.
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There were still some encouraging signs for the Kings in the loss, including goals from Brian Dumoulin and Joel Armia, along with Trevor Moore joining the list of scorers as the game opened up. But after a wild opener that turned into a scoring race the Kings could not win, the bigger concern now is how they clean up the defensive end before this early gut check starts to feel like a trend. [Read more 🡒]