Adrian Dater
We’ve all kind of flinched and squirmed and felt jittery at times with Darcy Kuemper in goal for the Colorado Avalanche these playoffs.
Now, the best offensive hockey player in the world is on his plate for four of the next seven possible games with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. But, Kuemper sure didn’t look or sound nervous on Monday.
“It’s a fun challenge. You want to face the best players in the world,” Kuemper said. “Looking forward to it.”
Darcy Kuemper is 6-1 in these playoffs, with a 2.44 goals-against and .904 save percentage. Some skeptics wonder if he’s still championship goalie material, but he’s helped take the Avs to their first Western Conference final in 20 years.
He remains something of a mystery man personally, rarely talking much about his personal life. This much is known: He got married within the past year, is from a prairie town in Saskatchewan and has a beloved German Shepard named Rogue. He turned 32 this month and can be an unrestricted free agent in July.
“Not really,” Kuemper said, when asked if he’s reflected on where he’s come from since early in his NHL career.
Kuemper said, for him, the “game itself hasn’t changed, but the urgency and intensity has.”
Kuemper wasn’t great in the second round, perhaps, but he’s shown the ability to bounce back after some rough patches, and he made some big stops in the clinching Game 6. Then again, he was bailed out by his defenseman, Josh Manson, on one key sequence in the second period, with his team down 2-1.
Kuemper may not have shut all the critics up yet, but, again, he seems confident he can.
“We’re in the Western Conference finals,” Kuemper said. “The focus is on right now.”