Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov has been named to his first NHL All-Star Game, the team announced this morning.
Kuznetsov joins Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby in representing the Caps, and replaces Alex Ovechkin on roster. The team announced after last night’s overtime loss to the Flyers that Ovechkin, who had been selected as the captain of the Metropolitan Division All-Star team, will miss the game because of a lower-body injury.
While this is Kuznetsov’s first NHL All-Star Game, it’s not his first rodeo. He has been a KHL All Star multiple times, and was named a first-team All Star in the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships and the 2011 and 2012 World Junior Championships.
Hopefully it will be the first of many NHL All-Star Games for Kuzy.
From the Caps:
Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov has been selected to participate in the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game, the NHL announced today. The game will be played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Jan. 31. Kuznetsov will join Capitals teammates Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby on the Metropolitan Division Team and Barry Trotz will serve as head coach.
Kuznetsov has registered 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 47 games this season. The 6’2”, 192-pound center leads the NHL in primary assists (29), assists per 60 minutes (2.44) and multi-assist games (10), ranks tied for first in three-assist games (3), three-point games (7), plus/minus (+24) and points per 60 minutes (3.55), tied for fourth in assists (34) and multi-point games (14), tied for fifth in points (49) and tied for seventh in overtime goals (2). The Chelyabinsk, Russia, native registered his first career hat trick and tallied a career-high five points (3g, 2a) on Oct. 23 at Edmonton. He became the first Capitals player to record five points in a game since Backstrom (1g, 4a) on Dec. 10, 2013, against Tampa Bay and the first to tally five points on the road since Backstrom (1g, 4a) on Feb. 4, 2010, against the NY Rangers. On Jan. 19 at Columbus, Kuznetsov registered a career-high four assists, marking his second consecutive three-assist game (1/17 vs. NYR: 3a). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the fifth different player in franchise history to record three or more assists in back-to-back games and the first since Backstrom in 2007-08 (1/19/08-1/21/08: 8a).
Share On