Well, that didn’t take long.
Evgeny Kuznetsov is already back on the scoresheet after hitting the back of the twine on a perfectly placed backhand.
Welcome back, Kuzy!
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Jonas Siegenthaler got the primary assist despite his pass missing its initial target, Richard Panik. Joe Pavelski got his stick on the puck, redirecting it into open ice… right to Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuzy quickly fired the gift off his backhand, beating Bishop.
Kuzy spun his stick around in his glove to celebrate.
Here’s Wes Johnson with the call.
Welcome back @Kuzya92 !! His 1st of the season comes quickly to start this one…. Caps lead the Stars 1-0. Listen and watch @WesJohnsonVoice !#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/jpY40wRseq
— Byron J. Hudtloff (@ByronHudtloff) October 8, 2019
During intermission, Kuznetsov was asked about the goal by NBC Sports Washington’s Al Koken. The interview was tough to watch because of the pain and emotion in both his face and voice.
"When you're playing hockey, you start to understand how important it is."@Kuzya92 talked about what he missed most while not playing #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/zsbsULCh8I
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) October 9, 2019
“That’s probably 75 percent of luck when you get like that,” Kuznetsov said. “That’s pretty good shift by our line I think. It starts from faceoff. We did not shoot the puck. We hold onto that puck. We trying to find a better shared opportunity for our partner and the puck came my way. Like I said, I’m pretty lucky to get that top cheese.”
Kuznetsov later looked downtrodden when asked by Koken what he missed most from the three games he missed.
“I miss a lot, you know,” Kuznetsov said, his head bowed, getting emotional. “It’s pretty much same routine every day. That not give you very positive energy when you come back every morning. When you playing the hockey, you start to understand how important it is.”
WELCOME BACK, KUZ pic.twitter.com/x8l1QCWydp
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) October 8, 2019
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