Moving over to the goaltenders, let’s take a look at Anton Forsberg’s first season with the Kings. After a slow start, Forsberg excelled in a 1B role and eventually turned that B into an A down the stretch. When push came to shove, there was perhaps no larger reason the Kings made the playoffs than Forsberg, who excelled down the stretch and kept games competitive against Colorado.
Anton Forsberg
NHL Statline – 36 games played, 2032 minutes played, 16-12-5 record, 2.52 goals against average, .910 save percentage, 3 shutouts
NHL Playoff Statline – 4 games played, 244 minutes played, 0-4 record, 2.70 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, 0 shutouts
Ultimately here, Anton Forsberg met expectations for this season. He probably exceeded them, especially when you think about the role he was signed to fill. Forsberg was excellent down the stretch and turned in one of his strongest NHL seasons, playing a few more games along the way than was expected when he signed with the Kings.
Trending Up – Overall, Anton Forsberg was one of the NHL’s best 5-on-5 goaltenders this season. Among goaltenders with double-digit appearances, Forsberg’s .926 save percentage 5-on-5 was the second-best mark in the entire NHL, behind only Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood. He was one of four goaltenders in the NHL with a GAA under 2.00 in 5-on-5 situations and he ranked seventh in the league with 15.76 goals saved above average, per Natural Stat Trick. He also led the league in high-danger GAA and ranked fourth in high-danger goals saved above expected at 9.11.
Forsberg saved his best for last, as he was outstanding down the stretch. Simple as that. Forsberg was selected as the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the week ending on April 12, as he posted three wins and a shutout in a pivotal week for the Kings late in the season. In the month of April, there was no better goaltender in the NHL than Forsberg, who led the league with 8.66 goals saved above average, per Natural Stat Trick. Included in that number was 5.42 high-danger goals saved above average, the NHL’s second-best mark in April. It took the Kings longer than it should have to lean on Forsberg. Once they did, however, he was a huge reason why the team qualified for the postseason.
While Game 4 skewed his numbers on the whole, one of the biggest reasons why the Kings were competitive in each game against Colorado was the play of their goaltender. In a pair of 2-1 defeats in Games 1 and 2, Forsberg had more than two goals saved above average, as he stopped 62 of the 66 shots he faced in total. I don’t believe there was a bad goal in the bunch, certainly not a goal that wasn’t preceded by a more impactful breakdown elsewhere on the ice. While Game 4 got away from the Kings, they could have and maybe even should have come back to Los Angeles tied 1-1. Forsberg’s play was one of the bigger bright spots in keeping Games 1, 2 and 3 within a single goal the bulk of the way.
Trending Down – While Forsberg’s conclusion was outstanding, his start was pretty shaky. His first month with the Kings saw him concede four goals or more three times in his first five starts. There were several leaky goals early, especially in those games with larger numbers against. If you cherry-pick any goaltender’s game log you’ll probably find a bad month. For Forsberg, though, it felt like it took him awhile to shed that first month. Once he settled in, he was solid, but it did take him some time to find his footing. Heading into next season, Forsberg has a real opportunity here to seize a larger piece of the pie, but doing so in October, not December, will be important for him.
How much of the penalty-killing struggles the Kings had this season do you put on the goaltenders? I think PK performance will show up in a number of these articles. The Kings were one of the worst teams in the NHL in shorthanded situations last season. Forsberg posted a .824 save percentage with his team shorthanded, which ranked 47th in the NHL among goaltenders with at least 100 minutes on the PK. At minus-3.98, he ranked 48th in goals saved above expected. Without going back and watching every power-play goal against, I suppose the answer here is a bit of a grey area. And, with a grey area, comes blame all around. The Kings were simply nowhere near good enough while shorthanded and the numbers here suggest it was a weak point in Forsberg’s season, as it was for several others.
I think the additional qualifier that is needed here is perhaps a contrarian to the third trending up bullet. While I felt Forsberg was one of the team’s best players in the postseason, he still went 0-4, with a save percentage that wound up at .909. Forsberg was far from the biggest problem with the Kings in that series. However, being close in a game doesn’t get you anything in the NHL. When there is a disparity as large as there is between Los Angeles and Colorado, you need a 2012 Jonathan Quick-type of performance. I think it needs to be said that while I thought Forsberg played well, he ultimately did not steal the Kings a game that could have extended or perhaps changed the course off the series.
2026-27 Status – Forsberg is under contract with the Kings for one more season, after he signed a two-year deal last summer to support Darcy Kuemper. The goaltending situation is one to watch, after Forsberg exceeded what was expected of him, while Kuemper’s performance declined from his excellent 2024-25 campaign. Both players are set to become free agents in 2027. The strength of the Kings pipeline is in goal, with Carter George and Hampton Slukynsky both set to begin their professional careers in the fall. It’s an interesting one to watch. As of now, you’d expect Forsberg and Kuemper to come into camp on level footing. If Forsberg can start next season as he ended this one, there is a path to a legitimate chance at a starting role going forward.
