Kings Set for Boost with Kuemper’s Expected Return, Kopitar and Moore Travel to St. Louis
Los Angeles Kings fans have reason for optimism as goaltender Darcy Kuemper is anticipated to return to the net against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (FDSNMW, FDSNW, KCAL). kuemper has been sidelined as sustaining an upper-body injury during Tuesday’s 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers.
The injury occurred with just 38.8 seconds remaining in the first period when Rangers forward Jonny brodzinski collided with Kuemper. Despite attempting to play through the initial impact, Kuemper was ultimately replaced by Anton Forsberg.Kuemper detailed the incident, explaining, “Kind of got hit on the side of my neck, and it pinched my neck and pinched the nerves, and my arm went dead. So, yeah, wasn’t allowed to come back in until we did some further testing yesterday.”
In addition to kuemper’s expected return, the Kings may also see the return of key forwards Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore. Both players have been dealing with upper-body injuries and will travel with the team to St. Louis. However, head coach Jim Hiller cautioned that their participation in Saturday’s game remains uncertain. Kopitar has missed the last eight games, while Moore has been absent for 11. “They’re going to travel, so that doesn’t mean they’re going to play, but they’re going to travel, yeah, so that’s really positive for us,” Hiller stated.
Rounding out the positive injury news, defenseman Drew Doughty, who missed Tuesday’s game due to illness, participated in Thursday’s practice and is expected to be available for Saturday’s matchup against the Blues.