Washington Capitals: The Kuz is loose, how Evgeny Kuznetsov re-found his game

One of the most pleasant surprises this early into the Washington Capitals season isn’t the fact they ended the first month of the season without a regulation loss. Neither is the fast start Alex Ovechkin is off to. Nope the best and most pleasant surprise this early in the season has been the reemergence of Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Kuznetsov was the subject of trade rumors all summer long. His inconsistency the last three seasons after the team won the Stanley Cup is a big reason why. The Caps have a goal to win another Stanley Cup and they need Kuznetsov to play like the way he did during that first Cup run to even have a shot to get past their first round woes.

Kuznetsov let the team in that magical spring with 20 assists and 32 points to go along with 12 goals. He had an OK 2018-19 season where he scored 21 goals and 51 assists for 72 points. Those numbers dropped in 2019-20 to 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points.

He was even worse last season. Kuznetsov scored nine goals and added 20 assists for 29 points in 41 games. Even worse, he was on the COVID-19 protocols list twice, was late to a team function, and was part of the Russian four that hung out in a hotel room which resulted in the team getting fined by the league.

Ever since he stepped on the ice at training camp he has seemed different. You can even tell in his interviews with the media. And despite all the outside noise, Kuzy’s teammates have always treated him like family. One such example came in the third game of the season against the Colorado Avalanche.

Everyone talks about the two goals that Kuznetsov had but what people don’t remember is that while on the power play, Kuznetsov made an errant pass that led to an Avalanche shorthanded goal. When he skated to the bench, nobody said anything to him. He said that silence meant a lot:

"“We know when we make mistakes, and when you come to the bench that’s the worst part. You want to go under the ground. But nobody say anything, and that was huge, you know?”"

Kuznetsov told head coach Peter Laviolette that he was going to get one back and indeed he did. So far in eight games this season, Kuznetsov has five goals and seven assists for 12 points, a plus/minus of plus six, while averaging a career high 20:52 minutes of ice time. That ice time increase goes to show the greater trust the team has in Kuznetsov. He is well on his way to 100 points. 

His advanced stats are pretty solid too. His Corsi For percentage is at 55.56 percent, a 60.90 percent Expected Goals For, and a 61.54 percent High Danger Chances For, via Natural Stat Trick. Welcome back Kuzy, it’s good to have the bird unleashed again.