The goalie was injured with 3:08 remaining in an 8-5 loss to the Minnesota Wild at Gila River Arena on Thursday, when he went into a butterfly position attempting to make a save against forward Ryan Hartman and could not get up on his own. He had to be helped off the ice.
"It was a tough one to watch. He's been a rock for this team, what he's done since January of last year," coach Rick Tocchet said, referring to Kuemper's 37-17-8 record and 2.10 goals-against average since Jan. 1.
Kuemper, who is 15-8-2 this season, is second in the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.17 and save percentage of .929 for goalies with at least 16 starts. Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop is the leader in each category (.933, 2.07).
Selected in the sixth round (No. 161) by Minnesota in the 2009 NHL Draft, the 29-year-old is 95-69-29 with a 2.46 GAA, .918 save percentage and 18 shutouts in 211 games (194 starts) through eight seasons with the Wild, Los Angeles Kings and Coyotes.
"Hopefully it's not as bad as it looks and hopefully he can come back 100 percent," defenseman Jakob Chychrun said. "That is what is most important, his health. We obviously wish him nothing but the best. It's scary and it's tough to see, that's for sure."
Antti Raanta, who is 5-5-2 with a 2.72 goal-against average and .919 save percentage, replaced Kuemper on Thursday.
Adin Hill
, who was 7-5-0 with a 2.76 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 13 games last season, was recalled from Tuscon of the American Hockey League on Friday.
The Coyotes (20-13-4), who are tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division, visit the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-D, FS-A, FS-A Plus, NHL.TV).
