Should the Kings start Portillo between the pipes?
The Los Angeles Kings goaltending started the 2024-25 season with solid performances. However, with an injury to starter Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich struggling, is it time for the newly recalled prospect Erik Portillo to make his NHL debut?
Portillo is the Kings’ top goaltending prospect.
Will the Kings start Portillo?
PHOTO: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun/USA TODAY NETWORK
Kuemper was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. We do not know how long he will be out or how serious the injury is. This is the second time he has been placed on IR. Rittich became the starter, and Portillo was recalled from the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Ontario Reign. After some subpar performances, including a 702 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday, Rittich is struggling to hold the fort. Maybe the Kings look to the future and see what Portillo can do.
Rittich is 7-6 with a 2.65 goals-against-average and a .883 save percentage. If he continues to be named the starter, he has to play better overall. Nothing about his game now says that he is the NHL starting goaltender, but instead, he is the NHL backup. In the 7-2 loss against San Jose, he did not look comfortable against one of the league’s worst teams. To keep his job, this kind of average play cannot continue. He doesn’t look like the same goaltender who went 13-6-3 with a 2.15 GAA and a .921 save percentage last season.
Will starting Portillo save the Kings?
It is extremely rare for a goaltender to come into his rookie season and tear the roof of the building, but it has happened (Patrick Lalime). At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, he has the size to be an impact player. He is only 24 years old and has many NHL years ahead of him.
In the last two seasons in Ontario, he has a 28-13-3 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.59 GAA. Right now, the King’s goaltending cannot get much worse, so they could see this as an opportunity to see what he has to offer. He is their future goaltender, and the time may be now to put him in the net.
Los Angeles and General Manager Rob Blake have two options: Play Portillo and see what he is made of, or make a trade for a legit, established goaltender.
The Kings cannot win with the current goaltending as it is, and something needs to change.
This team cannot win a playoff round, let alone the Stanley Cup, the way this roster is constructed.
It needs to be finely tuned and playoff-ready. Right now, this team may not even make the playoffs.
One can only assume changes are coming, but who is going,g and who is coming in?
PHOTO: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun/USA TODAY NETWORK
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