Kuemper Weathers an Islanders Barrage on Long Island
The Islanders fired far more pucks at the net, but Darcy Kuemper made sure it didn't matter. Los Angeles left UBS Arena with a 3-2 overtime win.
New York outshot the Kings 43-25 and had more shot attempts, 74-62. Volume isn't everything, though. The two teams' chances were worth the same amount: 3.53 expected goals each, which is a measure of how many goals those looks would normally produce. This was an even night on quality, and the difference was in the crease. Kuemper stopped 41 of 43 shots and turned aside all 11 of the high-danger chances he faced. By goals saved above expected, which compares the goals a goalie allowed with what an average goalie would allow on the same shots, he was worth 1.53 goals. Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves.
The posts were part of the story too. Adam Pelech and Brayden Schenn both rang shots off the iron for New York. Adrian Kempe hit one for Los Angeles as well, so the bad bounces didn't all go one way.
Artemi Panarin scored twice on a line with Kempe and Alex Laferriere. Brandt Clarke added a goal and an assist. For New York, Matthew Schaefer played 29:24 and put 9 shots on goal, and he scored one of the two that got past Kuemper.
