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Kings Duos, Part I: The Crease
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- Kings Duos, Part I: The Crease
Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images
SAN DIEGO, CA — The regular season is still a far cry away, and there remains a slim chance that the roster can change for these Los Angeles Kings . In the meantime, I pondered the strategy behind duos . Ponder on this: elite, contending teams across the league have excellent one-twos across the roster. This means at the center position, wing, or defensive core, with goaltending rarely having an elite 1-2 combo like Boston did just a few seasons ago.
While the Holy Trinity is a proven schematic the Kings constructed during the Lombardi era championship window (2011-2016): a franchise cornerstone center, defenseman, goaltender, the league has adapted into solidifying strengths towards positioning. Some teams will have an elite 1-2 winger combination that can find success with lesser but capable centers who do not hit that top-end threshold, but can complement elite wingers. The long-lasting combo is a 1-2 down the middle that seems the clearest baseline for a successful composite, like Edmonton , Vegas , Florida . If that can't be achieved, since elite centers come at a premium, teams can also build assets around, say, a cornerstone goaltender that can steal games ( Winnipeg strength in the crease, lukewarm down the middle).
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Even Minnesota , a team not necessarily elite down the middle but with an ascending young goaltender, one of the best wingers in the game, and arguably the best one-two defenseman duo, makes the framework viable.
The top two players at each position are essentially eating the vast majority of minutes in a game, or with goaltenders, games across a season. Those two players at each position largely influence the outcome of each team's season, with the depth players influencing the margins. Glue guys might connect the dots, but the duos provide the dots.
Specifically for the Kings, where do they stand with their duos? For this article in this series, I should say "tandem."
Working my way from the crease out, this was once the prime position for the Kings, anchored by Jonathan Quick during their years of winning and pride. After his departure, there was turbulence in tenure. It found some solidification in a recouping from the Pierre Luc Dubois contract swap for Darcy Kuemper . Kuemper, when on, is amongst the top ten goaltenders in the league, as evidenced by his numbers across the last three seasons. Amongst the 47 goaltenders who logged 4,000 minutes at EVs since 2023, he ranks 10th in save percentage (SV%), 3rd in goals-allowed average (GAA), 11th in goals saved above expected (GSAA), 10th in high danger save percentage (HDSV%), and 10th in high danger goals saved above expected (HDGSAA).
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Consider the inflated numbers from his rough time in Washington, and those numbers become much more solidified toward 'top ten goaltender.'
Figure 1:Kuemper suffered significant injuries while in Washington, coming off a championship run with the Avalanche in 2022. His numbers during his first season in LA were excellent, but history repeated itself: an injury deflated the netminder the following season, but rather softly in the Kings' system.
His penalty-killing numbers shift toward the middle of the pack over that same span, and once again consider the shakiness in Washington. However, among 31 goaltenders who logged at least 500 minutes on the kill, Kuemper ranked 6th in both HDSV% and HDGSAA.
Here's the wiggle room for positive upheaval. He was a Vezina finalist in his first year as a King, and even with his injury season thereafter, his numbers are formidable. Amongst the 38 goaltenders in the last two seasons that logged 3000 minutes at EVs, he is 3rd in SV%, 1st in GAA, 6th in GSAA, 3rd in HDSV%, and 6th in HDGSAA. That's among the elite.
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The downside, though, is upon us. Those numbers are inflated by a very friendly defensive schematic that has seen goaltender resurgence since Cam Talbot . The core that stands directly in front of the crease matters . Point to 2024-25, as that was the best defensive season the Kings have produced since 2018, largely due to a defensive core that spent more time in the offensive zone at its peak, before dismantling for a weaker, less viable product. Behind that core, Kuemper earned a Vezina nomination. That's not to take away an excellent season from an individual aspect, but rather to note that it was influenced by a team that played well above its expected margins in the wake of the Dubois disaster.
In Washington, an injury-plagued Kuemper and his performance reflected that. After his nomination, he got off to a hot start in 2025-26, but an injury against the Dallas Stars just months into the season derailed any follow-up to a near-miss Vezina season. His numbers cratered slightly, and a team that took massive steps back in its ability to transition and overall defensive play exposed him to a greater degree than in 2024-25.
This is where the Kings' twocomes into the fold, in an optimistic way.
Anton Forsberg was excellent last season, and realistically, he's been a higher-end backup during his NHL tenure when given more workload. He proved it last season, striding through the final stretch of the season with ease, acting as the bona fide starter. Forsberg dethroned Kuemper for their short-lived series against the Colorado Avalanche . In all fairness, Forsberg, on numbers alone, was elite: (42 tenders with 1500+ minutes of EVs) T-2nd in SV%, 4th in GAA, 7th in GSAA, 1st in HDSV%, 5th in HDGSAA. Filter out all the starting regulars, and he's atop the heap in EVs performance amongst 'backups'.
Figure 2:Forsberg's numbers before the Kings were rather pedestrian, higher middle of the pack, with an increased volume of high danger chances diluting his performance. The Kings' defensive system, sometimes called 'boring,' limits high danger better amongst the best suppressive teams in the league, and there's an argument to be made that changes to that system may isolate goaltenders in a bad way. Figure 1 also reinforces this thought.
It's a situation that garners real optimism, but with some guarded restraint. The organization here is taking sizable risks by not investing in its future, a common theme across the board for the last half-decade. The organization has a surplus of talent in its goaltending pipeline but has yet to show signs of a staggered implementation. They will have two goaltenders at age 33 and 36 next season with the overhead concept of muddled contention.
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Seeing a Carter George anytime soon is highly unlikely, but perhaps Erik Portillo sees some time as he's the 'readiest'. Unless there's an injury, I wouldn't expect to see anyone other than Forsberg or Kuemper, save a game or two here or there, or if the team folds early on.
With the evidence, I see risk, but a calculated one from the organization. Forsberg ended the season as a guy who has a case to see more starting time, and Kuemper has positive metrics with a clean slate, bouncing back from an injury.
It's two unknowns the Kings are willing to work with as they navigate the upcoming season, but I feel they are highly optimistic Kuemper sees a resurgence towards his usual numbers, maybe not Vezina caliber, but still towards his career median (career .913 SV%). That percentage puts the Kings, much like most teams, in a position to succeed every night given the schematic in front of the tender is not disastrous. If the plan under Kuemper gets derailed, they have one of the best backups in the league ready to go.
The final point, if not the most critical unknown, is how the team will play differently under Peter Laviolette. If it's up-tempo as he's deployed in the past, forcing defensemen to be more offensively engaged up-ice, it could produce more odd-man rushes back towards the netminders, aka, more high danger going both ways.
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That's a caveat that cannot be ignored. Forsberg and Kuemper have excellent numbers for high danger chances, but considering the limited volume they see under the Kings' defensive structure, a wary eye looks at a new up-tempo system with four defensemen on the blueline who struggle with the puck on their stick blade.
Overall, the Kings have a top-ten starter when healthy, chipping actually much closer towards top five given proper insulation. They have one of the best backups in the league in Forsberg who could potentially build off a fantastic finish of last season. Their one-two is arguably contender-worthy, with a dash of inherent risk involved, as they will need a resurgence of Kuemper, Forsberg consistent to last year's finish with diluted minutes should Kuemper return to form, and systematic change under Laviolette.
The personnel in the crease, a clean system adjustment, and a return to health could be contender-worthy. The uncertainties, though, are real, given the circumstances. This series will find more compelling duos and more troubling ones. The crease, for now, sits in qualified good standing.
