Allowing a go-ahead goal in a must-win game and losing your goalie to a freak injury is the definition of a double whammy and a nightmare realized for the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.
Trevor Lewis broke a 1-1 tie with a backhand goal past Darcy Kuemper early in the third period, and while he was getting ready to lift his stick to the heavens in celebration, the blade of it caught one of the eye holes in Kuemper’s mask.
The result sent Kuemper, a godsend for the Coyotes after losing Antti Raanta to injury, sprawling to the ice. The 28-year-old netminder laid face down on the ice for a while as a trainer tended to him. He managed to get to his feet, holding a towel over his right eye area as he skated off to a standing ovation from Coyotes fans.
Calvin Pickard, who has played since March 11, took Kuemper’s place.
The Coyotes ruled out Kuemper for the rest of the game with an upper-body injury.
UPDATE: Well, sort of. There wasn’t really one after the game.
Rick Tocchet didn’t have a lot of information on goalie Darcy Kuemper. He did say that Kuemper told him it was a little blurry but he thought he would be OK.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) April 3, 2019
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck