Evgeny Kuznetsov easily exceeded expectations this year

The Washington Capitals have had a weird up and down season but one thing that has been an encouraging sign is the reemergence of Evgeny Kuznetsov as one of the elite playmaking centers in the NHL.

Kuznetsov has 22 goals and 46 assists for 68 points. That’s miles better than last season’s nine goal effort over 41 games and a 19 goal performance the season before. In fact, this is Kuznetsov’s best season since 2017-18 when he recorded 21 goals and 51 assists for 72 points.

Kuznetsov hasn’t given teams the bird celly but over the last five games he’s shown how unselfish he is with five assists. There was only one game where Kuznetsov was held point less. He also had a hat trick in a recent road win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Kuznetsov is also hilarious. Give him a microphone whether he’s mic’d up or at a postgame press conference and you’ll be amazed at what he has to say. Such was the case on Wednesday night’s broadcast against the Tampa Bay Lightning on TNT.

The best part was when the ref handed him the puck after Alex Ovechkin scored. Kuznetsov had no idea why until the ref told him it was his 1,400th career point.

“Why did you give me that puck?”

“You didn’t know Ovi has 1,400 points? That was a big point. Just another milestone.”

That’s a shocker he didn’t know considering the two are good friends but then again it seems like every night Ovechkin gets a new milestone. He finally got to be in a picture with Ovechkin last month when he passed Jaromir Jagr for third all time in goals scored.

The mic’d u footage also included Kuznetsov screaming “Willy’s fresh!”. He also was interviewed before the game and was asked how the Caps can turn things around. His answer, no surprise, was that the team needs to play more road games. You may remember Kuznetsov always saying he prefers to play on the road.

The Caps will be on the road this afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a place Kuznetsov knows all too well.