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Evgeny Kuznetsov saluted a group of Russian Capitals fans after scoring at Prudential Center

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The Washington Capitals played their first road game of the 2021-22 season on Thursday, but there were so many Caps fans at Prudential Center that at times it felt like a home game. The NYC Caps Crew filled up a section of the lower bowl while hundreds of Capitals fans made the drive up to Newark. There was also a personal cheering section for Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Kuzy did not let his fans down. In the third period, Kuznetsov scored his third goal of the season, dunking the puck past Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood in front of the net.

After the goal, Kuznetsov immediately pointed towards a group of Capitals fans sitting behind the Devils goal.

They were Russian.

So naturally, I needed to know the story. I urged the NYC Caps Crew to find them, talk to them, and take pictures with them. They came through in the clutch.

The Russian Capitals fans were holding a sign that read:

Miass supports Traktor.
Forward, Russia

The sign references Traktor Chelyabinsk, Kuznetsov’s hometown KHL team that he played five seasons with. Miass is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located 60 miles west of Chelyabinsk according to Wikipedia. The city has a population of over 150k and is named after the Miass river which winds through the Southern Ural Mountains.

After spurring the Capitals for several years after being drafted, Kuznetsov became hugely popular in his hometown as he dazzled with his skill and speed in the KHL.

Kuznetsov really appreciated his fans traveling from Russia to be there. Not only did he point after his goal, but he could be seen tossing a game puck and his hockey stick into the crowd after the buzzer. Later, Fatou Bah of the NYC Caps Crew, told me that Kuznetsov autographed their sign.

They wore matching Capitals hoodies.

This isn’t the only time Kuznetsov has had fans travel from his hometown to see him play in North America. In 2015, a group traveled to a game in DC to watch him at Capital One Arena.

As for Kuznetsov, he continued his hot start to the season. Kuzy had a goal and an assist in the game – it was his third multi-point effort (1g, 1a) in four contests this season. In the first period, Kuzy also assisted on an all-Russian tally (I’m sure his fans loved this), where Dmitry Orlov scored off an Alex Ovechkin rebound. Via the Capitals PR, Kuznetsov now has eight points (3g, 5a) and has tied 2017-18 for his best four-game start to a season (0g-8a-8p).

Photo: @Capitals/@NYCCapsCrew

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