After the Capitals fell behind 3-0 in their series against Barry Trotz and the New York Islanders, Evgeny Kuznetsov shaved his head bald and only left the goatee part of his playoff beard ahead of Game Four.
The bald/goatee getup resembled Barry Trotz’s look during his time in Washington, but it appears Kuzy, a huge soccer fan, was actually influenced by a famous footballer.
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Kuznetsov's hair is ….. something pic.twitter.com/0tLIRPCHPR
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) August 21, 2020
During intermission of Game Five, NBC Sports Washington cameras found Kuznetsov in the hallway while he was working on his sticks. Kuzy left a tuft of hair remaining at the front of his head when he shaved. The hair is in the shape of a protractor/diamond.
It appears Kuzy left a strip of hair on the front of his head to cushion his helmet 😂 pic.twitter.com/mgtIOxRjrD
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) August 21, 2020
It’s actually the same hair cut that legendary soccer player Ronaldo gave himself before the 2002 World Cup.
— Ryan Ellis (@ryanellisracing) August 21, 2020
— Kyle (@kylechick90) August 21, 2020
“My groin was hurting. I was only at 60%. So I shaved my head,” Ronaldo said to ESPN Brazil according to sportsjoe.ie. “Everybody was only talking about my injury. When I arrived in training with this haircut everybody stopped talking about the injury.”
This suggests Kuznetsov got ridiculous with his hair to bring some happiness to his teammates and shift focus away from the team’s poor play. And for one game it worked, as the Capitals won Game Four 3-2 and Kuznetsov was one of the best players on the ice, scoring one point and tallying two points.
It would also explain why Kuznetsov yelled RONALDO! on the bench during Game Four.
Bald Kuzy yelling “Ronaldo” at his teammates gives me life.
📸 @Capitals pic.twitter.com/OlQvuDSmp3
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) August 20, 2020
When previously asked about his haircut, Kuznetsov evaded the question.
“What happen on the team stay in the team,” Kuzy said.
Kuzy’s world-famous bird celebration is also influenced by his love for soccer. The celebration, called the bird walk, is from FIFA, his favorite video game.
Full RMNB Coverage of WSH/NYI Game Five
Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington
