After losing his backup goalie job last season to a 29-year-old who had spent the whole season in the minors, Darcy Kuemper admitted it was probably time for a change of scenery.

Despite coming off the worst season of his career, Kuemper landed the backup gig for the Los Angeles Kings and already has four wins in six starts. The Kings are host to the Wild on Tuesday night.

In eight appearances this season, including six starts, Kuemper is 4-0-2 with a 1.72 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

“I guess a fresh start has been good for me,” Kuemper told reporters in Los Angeles. “It’s hard to really comment on (how things ended with the Wild). I’m just happy with how things have been going so far.”

While Kuemper said he doesn’t know yet whether he’ll be between the pipes for a 9 p.m. puck drop Tuesday, he looked back fondly on his time in Minnesota. Kuemper, 27, was drafted by the Wild in the sixth round of the 2009 entry draft and earned 89 starts over his five seasons in Minnesota.

“I really enjoyed my experiences in Minnesota and enjoyed my time there,” Kuemper told reporters. “Now I’m just excited about a new chapter here in L.A. and I’m really excited about how things have been going so far.”

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His hold on the backup job began to slip because of a 3.13 GAA and the Wild eventually called up Alex Stalock to replace him at the end of March.

As a free agent this summer, Kuemper said he wasn’t worried he might have to accept a two-way deal to land with a team and eventually signed a one-year, one-way $650,000 deal with the Kings.

“You never know what’s going to happen, but I know that I can play in this league, so I was really excited to get the call from L.A.,” Kuemper told reporters. “When I signed here, I was really looking forward to the season and things have been going well here.”

HE LOVES L.A., TOO

Former Wild defenseman Christian Folin said he circled Tuesday’s game on his calendar as soon as the schedule was released.

Folin signed a one-year deal worth $850,000 with the Kings last summer after spending the first three years of his career with the Wild. He recorded the best season of his career last season, totaling eight points in 51 games.

“I had three great years there,” Folin told reporters. “It’ll be a special game, but still it’s just two points on the line and if we focus on our team game, we’ll be successful.”