Darcy Kuemper and Jeremy Swayman were ready to throw down during Sunday night’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins.
The two goaltenders met at center ice with 5:47 left in the second period after a heated fracas in front of the Kings’ net spread outward. Swayman got his glove, blocker, and mask off, and Kuemper got his glove and blocker off before the on-ice officials intervened, separating the two backstops, much to the chagrin of the crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
The notoriously smiley Kuemper started the rough stuff, taking exception to Bruins forward Marat Khusnutdinov running into him in his crease. The 34-year-old netminder took a swipe at Khusnutdinov, knocking his helmet off and leading to the net-front fracas.
Swayman was first to center ice after seeing Kuemper’s involvement, wanting to even up the 6-on-5 situation brewing behind LA’s net. Kuemper responded by being the first to move across the red line, only to be stopped by one of the linesmen.
When the dust settled, both goalies were given penalties for leaving their creases, Kuemper was assessed an extra roughing minor for taking Khusnutdinov’s helmet off, and Khusnutdinov was handed a minor for goaltender interference.
The Kings, without additional comment, tweeted a photo of Kuemper smiling during their team photo session this year.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 24, 2025
The Kings ended up scoring five unanswered goals in the second and third periods, winning 7-2. Kuemper improved to 24-9-7 on the season and has not given up more than two goals in his last eight starts.
