Ever since he arrived in the NHL, Evgeny Kuznetsov has used a pass Joe Beninati has nicknamed the twister. Kuznetsov will begin skating around the net before turning and tossing the puck back behind his body towards the crease. Almost every time Kuznetsov tries the move, it results in a high-quality scoring chance or goal from a Caps player crashing the net.
Naturally, success (Kuznetsov is fifth in the NHL in scoring) brings attention. And I’m guessing Senators star forward Bobby Ryan has been studying the first-time All Star’s move because Tuesday during Ottawa’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Ryan tries the Kuzy Pass From The Kuzy Spot. It had a different wrinkle though. The right-handed Ryan had to put the pass through his own legs to connect with his target, Ryan Dzingel, for the rookie’s third career goal.
No-look passes are awesome. Every. Single. Time. #OTTvsCARhttps://t.co/6leU3dYzue
— NHL (@NHL) March 9, 2016
Maybe Ryan’s pulled this move before, but I haven’t seen it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I’m sure Kuznetsov would be honored. Earlier in the season, Kuznetsov wrote in the Players’ Tribune how the video sharing site YouTube inspired his own style of play.
“When I got older, maybe 14 years old, I finally got to see a computer for first time,” Kuznetsov wrote. “YouTube was everything. I get to see how Wayne Gretzky play, how Red Machine play. I get to see how Alexei Kovalev, Ilya Kovalchuk and Ovi play.”
“Who knows, maybe some bored Russian kid is watching my YouTube now,” Kuznetsov continued. “That would be cool.”
Well, Zhenya, I hope you can settle for Bobby Ryan.
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