For the second time this season, Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper has been sidelined with a lower body injury. While it has yet to be confirmed if he reaggravated the groin pull that he had trouble with back in October, he is projected to miss at least seven days either way after being placed on injured reserve.
In his absence, Erik Portillo has been recalled from AHL Ontario. The Kings top goaltending prospect has yet to make his NHL debut after turning pro in 2023. He’s played a total of 44 games with the Reign, including five this season. It’s been a bit of a slow start for the 6-foot-6 netminder after a stellar rookie campaign last year. We’ll assume he will backup David Rittich, who should take over as LA’s No. 1 goalie for the next few games — a stretch where they don’t play any back-to-backs until after Thanksgiving.
Prior to the 2024-25 campaign getting underway, Portillo signed a three-year contract extension with the Kings. He is waiver exempt this season, so that will not factor into the process of sending him back to Ontario when that time arrives.
Further, Jacob Ingham has been recalled by Ontario from ECHL Greenville. Signed to a one-year ‘show me’ contract this offseason, the 6-foot-5 Barie, Ontario native has already played one game for the Reign this season during a brief recall. His other starts in 2024-25 have come in Greenville, where he holds a 2-1-0 record with a .943 save percentage.
In somewhat related news. defenseman Caleb Jones was also placed on IR by the Kings. To fill his spot on coach Jim Hiller’s roster, Jacob Moverare has been recalled to Los Angeles.
On a more positive note, this happened last night:
GOALIE GOAL BY CARTER GEORGE!!!!!!!
@LAKings 2024 #NHLDraft pick Carter George just SCORED for the @AttackOHL in the third period!Oh and did we mention.. he's a GOALIE.
#OHL | @CHLHockey | #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/yqbrY7Jaz5
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 15, 2024
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