The Los Angeles Kings will have a different lineup tonight when they take on the Dallas Stars. The Kings organization announced they’ve activated netminder Darcy Kuemper from the team’s injured reserve, placed veteran forward Trevor Lewis on the injured reserve, and loaned goaltender Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
It was a relatively long hiatus for Kuemper on Los Angeles’ injured reserve. This was the second time this season that Kuemper landed on injured reserve, the first being from October 14 to October 26. This most recent stretch cost Kuemper seven consecutive games with backup netminder David Rittich being handed the starting role. The veteran netminder has managed a 4-2-3 record in 10 starts for the Kings this season though many of his starting goaltender peers have already recorded 20 or more starts.
Given the organization’s proximity to the salary cap ceiling and without a real need to keep three goaltenders on the roster, it was always likely Portillo would head back to Ontario, CA. He still made his NHL debut on November 29th against the Anaheim Ducks, picking up his first win in a near-flawless effort. Still, he’ll find more consistent playing time with the Reign this year where he’s already managed a 4-2-0 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average.
Similarly to Kuemper, Lewis’ time on the Kings’ injured reserve won’t be brief. The lower-body injury is expected to shelf the veteran forward for the next four to six weeks which will prohibit him from playing in his 1,000th career game for a month or more.
Los Angeles has sufficient forward depth to replace Lewis down the middle on the fourth line. The team will likely deploy prospect Samuel Helenius there for the time being but could like to give those minutes to Arthur Kaliyev once he’s activated from the injured reserve himself.
Sending Portillo down is pretty much the last straw for me regarding moron Rob Blake and inept coaching staff. There is no reason whatsoever that both Kuemper and Rittich should be blocking Portillo’s rightful path to the Kings crease for both now and the future. As if Kuemper and Rittich are potential vezina goalies and long term solutions! Incredibly stupid – the inside sabotage continues!!
FIRE ROB BLAKE!!
What are talking about?
Portillo played like a fresh face rookie, overplaying pucks resulting in him being out of position. Had the game been against anyone other than the ducks, he would probably have given up 3-5 goals.
Agreed. He’s good but he’s not ready. Gave up a lot of juicy rebounds too.
And hire this guy!!
Wow, 5 comments received about a Kings’ post must be a new record.