Darcy Kuemper of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan recorded his 39th career National Hockey League shutout on Thursday. He accomplished the feat in a 4-0 Los Angeles Kings win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Kuemper made 19 saves for the shutout. He made seven saves in the first period, five saves in the second period and seven saves in the third period. Jake DeBrusk of Edmonton, Alberta and Teddy Blueger led the Canucks with three shots on goal each.
Quinton Byfield of Newmarket, Ontario led the Kings in scoring with two points. He had one goal and one assist. Byfield was one of two Canadians to score for the Kings. The other was Scott Laughton of Oakville, Ontario, who scored the game-winning goal with two minutes and 26 seconds left in the first period on the power-play.
On the season, Kuemper has a record of 18 wins, 13 regulation losses and 13 losses in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.60 and a save percentage of .899.
This was Kuemper’s third shutout of the season. The first came on November 4 in a 3-0 Kings win over the Winnipeg Jets and the second came on December 6 in a 6-0 Kings win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Of Kuemper’s 39 NHL shutouts, 11 have come with the Kings, 10 have come with the Arizona Coyotes, seven have been with the Minnesota Wild, six have been with the Washington Capitals and five have been with the Colorado Avalanche.
With the win over the Canucks, the Kings improve to a record of 29 wins, 25 regulation losses and 18 losses in extra time for 76 points. They are one point back of the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.