While the Washington Capitals lost their third straight game Saturday night, there were positives to take out of their matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they peppered 35 shots on net, scored their first goal in over 109 minutes of play, and managed to pick up a point.
And then there was Evgeny Kuznetsov’s shootout goal.
After the three-on-three frame went scoreless, Kuznetsov opened the breakaway challenge with visual wonder you can normally only get rewatching Plant Earth on Netflix.
Coming in slowly on Tampa goaltender Ben Bishop, Kuznetsov faked a slap shot, drove to the net, and went to his backhand. As Kuznetsov did that, Bishop swept his stick along ice, hoping to pokecheck the puck away.
The Russian wizard had none of that, as he lifted his back leg over Bishop’s stick and calmly popped the puck into the net.
To celebrate, Kuznetsov twirled his stick in his hands as he skated toward the Capitals bench.
Easy peasy.
