Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper escapes serious eye injury. But swelling could keep him out of Game 4 at Nashville – The Denver Post

NASHVILLE — Darcy Kuemper wasn’t made available to reporters Sunday because the Avalanche goalie hasn’t been cleared to play in Game 4 on Monday against the Nashville Predators.

Kuemper, however, will undoubtedly play again this postseason after escaping what could have been a serious eye injury in Colorado’s 7-3 victory in Game 3 on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.

Kuemper, who had the blade of Preds forward Ryan Johansen poke through his mask and into his face late in the first period, has extensive swelling around his right eye but no serious direct damage to it, Avs coach Jared Bednar said before Sunday’s optional practice.

Kuemper was later seen in the hallway outside the dressing and it looked as though his eye was swollen shut. But he was in good spirits and Bednar said if the swelling decreases he could start or at least back up Pavel Francouz on Monday when the Avs attempt to sweep the Western Conference first-round series.

As a precaution, the Avs recalled goalie Justus Annunen from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. They’re also carrying practice goalie Hunter Miska.

“Unfortunate incident,” Bednar said of Johansen’s errant stick. “I’ve never seen it before; when you see a player going out holding their eye you’re always worried about it regardless of what team they’re on. So luckily he’s doing good and he doesn’t have any complications except for the swelling.”

“That’s scary stuff,” Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog told The Post outside the locker room. “You know, shoulders are one thing, a knee is another thing, but your eyes, that’s a scary thing. We’re lucky. It could have been a lot worse. We’re fortunate we got some good news out of it.”