Barry Trotz is in Tampa to coach the Metropolitan Division All-Stars. Saturday, during All-Star media availability, NBC Sports Washington’s Tarik El-Bashir asked the Caps bench boss for an update on Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov, one of the team’s best players, left Thursday’s game early against the Florida Panthers after suffering a painful lower-body injury. The debate after the game was if Kuznetsov either tore or tweaked something in his groin or knee.
Keeping with the team’s policy of obfuscating player injuries, Trotz didn’t reveal much.
Video
“I’m not *that* concerned…” —#Caps Coach Barry Trotz on Evgeny Kuznetsov, who did not finish Thursday’s game vs. the #Panthers due to injury. Kuzy stayed behind with family in Florida. pic.twitter.com/D32G1eNWH9
— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) January 27, 2018
El-Bashir asked Trotz if he was concerned about Kuznetsov’s injury.
“Not too much,” Trotz said. “I know he stayed in Florida with our trainers. They felt that he would be fine if he just stayed. We’ll see when we get back. I’m not that concerned.”
This seems to be a positive news, depending on how you interpret the tone in Trotz’s voice when he utters the word that.
Pieced together with the update that Trotz gave on Thursday that Kuznetsov “was walking around,” perhaps this is not a major or season-ending injury. Maybe?
“We won’t know [Friday] until he gets evaluated,” Trotz said then. “He was walking around. I don’t have a timeframe for you.”
El-Bashir added in his tweet from today that “Kuzy stayed behind with family in Florida.” Kuznetsov’s teammate and countryman, Dmitry Orlov, also appears to have stuck around in Florida as well.
Photo: @orlov_09
That’s definitely better than immediately flying Kuznetsov to Birmingham, Alabama so let’s continue to keep our fingers crossed.
Headline photo: @TarikNBCS
