Photo credit: Vitaly Gubin/HC Traktor
Top Washington Capitals prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov continues his playmaking exhibition in the KHL. With six points (four assists) in his last four games, Kuznetsov seems to have shaken off a bad start in which he had four consecutive pointless games and suffered a shoulder injury.
In the last two games, Kuznetsov added three assists, two of which were highlight-worthy.
In a match-up against one of the league’s bottom-feeders, Dinamo Minsk, the 21-year-old forward shook off a check from defenseman Andrey Filichkin and set up former Cap Jan Bulis for a tap-in finish in front of the net. That goal opened the scoring and became the eventual game-winner of the 3-0 Traktor performance.
Kuznetsov tried to knife in from the sharp angle, but the puck got poked away from him. His teammate Petri Kontiola picked it up, skated a circle around the defense, and pulled the trigger. Former Senators prospect Jeff Glass made the save, but Kontiola was first on the rebound.
On the powerplay, Kuznetsov got denied on a slapper from the right circle, but he got the puck back and faked a shot, passing instead to Stanislav Chistov, who had all day to put the puck in the gaping net.
Traktor is currently one point out from the playoff picture with three games in hand over Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg. In their next game on Tuesday, Traktor will face Mark French, Boyd Kane, and Medvescak Zagreb.
