The Caps leading point-producer, Evgeny Kuznetsov, had another one of those nights. The 23-year-old Chelyabinsk native was magical with the puck, tallying his fourth three-assist game and his eighth three-point game of the season.
Kuznetsov used an unreal slap pass to Daniel Winnik to help the former Leaf tally his first goal with the Capitals. Later in the second period, Kuzy did The Kuzy Pass From The Kuzy Spot, leading to a TJ Oshie goal. Finally, early in the third period, Kuznetsov showed his poise, gathering in a loose puck near the boards and finding Andre Burakovsky wide open in front of the net.
All three assists were primary assists. And all three passes showed off Kuznetsov’s world-class talent. Just don’t tell that to him.
“It’s lucky play again,” Kuznetsov sheepishly said of his twisting, against-the-grain pass to Oshie.
“That’s just luck?” a reporter asked.
“Yeah, of course,” Kuznetsov replied.
Kuznetsov’s teammates were a bit less timid.
“He’s great,” Daniel Winnik said after the game. “I don’t think he gets enough recognition around the league to be honest. I knew he was a good center, but I didn’t know he was this good when I came here. He showed all his passing skills tonight, that’s for sure.”
“He sees things that maybe only a handful of players in the league can see,” TJ Oshie, a very skilled player in his own right, said. “It’s fun. It’s nice to get those empty netters. You kinda think to yourself ‘How did he just do that?'”
“He’s very deceptive,” Braden Holtby said. “Very smart, creative, executes it well. A lot of guys can maybe see that, top level guys, but he executes it all the same. It’s fun to watch.”
It certainly is, Braden. Just don’t tell Kuzy, who’s now the number three ranked point-producer in the whole dang league.
When the Caps are smoking the Preds and Kuzy has a hat trick of assists pic.twitter.com/q0fW88oU7r
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) March 19, 2016
Additional reporting by Chris Gordon.
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