Arizona Coyotes: Darcy Kuemper flourishing as a starter

The Arizona Coyotes continued their recent stretch of victories, with Darcy Kuemper extending his own impressive record in 2019.

Entering the 2019/20 season, Darcy Kuemper was expected to feature purely as the backup for the Arizona Coyotes.

Multiple injuries to starter Antti Raanta have seen Kuemper forced into the limelight in the desert, but the 28-year-old has started to flourish in the role – seeing the team still in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Prior to the Coyotes’ shootout victory over the Florida Panthers, the team’s official Twitter account posted some impressive statistics about Kuemper’s performances since the turn of the year.

Since the start of the 2019 calendar year, @dkuemps35 is 12-3-3 with a .925 SV% and 2.29 GAA.

His 12 wins are the fourth-most in the @NHL during that span. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ixfhGnXIBO
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 26, 2019

Heading into the Panthers game, Kuemper held a 12-3-3 record in 2019, averaging just 2.29 goals against and having an impressive save percentage of .925.

Allowing three goals against the Panthers, with a save percentage of .889, will have impacted Kuemper’s individual stats, but he has extended his impressive form to 13-3-3.

Many teams in the NHL are only able to progress as far as their starting goaltender will take them, and many were concerned with how the Arizona Coyotes would fare – with a string of poor results seeing the team slip towards the bottom of the Western Conference.

Entering the third month of the new year, however, the Coyotes find themselves within touching distance of the final wildcard spot – with Rick Tocchet having the team pulling in the right direction, and his incumbent starter looking more than comfortable.