Evgeny Kuznetsov is struggling to light the lamp this season; he has six goals in 51 games with a five percent shooting percentage — 6.2 percent lower than his career average. But there is one thing he has become automatic at. Kuzy has connected on all three of his shootout attempts this season after missing seven of his previous 10 tries during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.

So what gives?

Kuzy has mastered his  s u p e r    s l o w w w w w  shootout move, which is both absurd and hard to stop.

It’s also becoming a viral sensation.

Evgeny Kuznetsov did it again…😂 pic.twitter.com/01NxuOu0Fz

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 27, 2023

Thursday against the Penguins, Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals in the second round of the shootout. Kuzy started at the Capitals’ goal line, snaked his way up the ice with speed, and then hit the breaks hard at center ice after collecting the puck with his stick. Kuzy deked about two dozen times before unleashing a shot past Casey DeSmith as the goaltender attempted to poke-check the puck away.

Backstrom would score on the Capitals’ next attempt, giving Washington the badly-needed extra point in the standings. Kuzy also moved into third overall in NHL shootout goals.

Kuznetsov has performed The Slownetsov Move every time he’s appeared in the shootout this season, including games on Thursday, November 17, 2022, against the St. Louis Blues and October 31, 2022, against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kuznetsov beat Thomas Greiss on his forehand after the Blues goaltender came way out of the net to challenge.

Kuznetsov deked Frederik Andersen, who sat way deep in the crease, and beat the Hurricanes goaltender on his forehand.

On all three shots, Kuznetsov plays a game of chicken with the goalie and unleashes his shot from feet away from the net. The move puts the onus on Kuznetsov to not get poke-checked by the goalie and perhaps lift the puck either over a pad or past an outstretched arm.

With such little reaction time for the netminder, I asked Kuzy if The Slownetsov ultimately gives him an advantage.

“I don’t know to be honest with you,” Kuznetsov said. “I don’t know what [the goalies] think but I feeling much more comfortable in terms of the timing and stick-handling. In terms of my angle, I feel much more comfortable when I’m coming slower.”

The move is so awkward and requires so much patience that I wondered if Kuznetsov’s goal is to make the goaltender make a move first, similar to soccer penalty kick, allowing Kuzy to take what he’s given.

“You can ask them, they’re probably all different,” Kuznetsov said. “I do look at the goalie for long time and see what he’s doing, how deep he is.”

One player who may have inspired Kuznetsov’s sloth-like approach is Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane, though Kuzy would not confirm or deny that. Kane skates the puck hard into the zone before putting on the breaks at the circles and then doing a dazzling stick-handling display, trying to find a hole to put the puck through.

Despite being one of the best skaters and finishers on breakaways in the NHL, Kuznetsov has long preferred to show patience in the shootout, gliding toward the net during his attempts. One example of such is this shootout goal against the Ottawa Senators in 2017.

When Kuznetsov had a bad stretch with his original move, he opted to go even slower to see if it would help. It did.

“I felt like I have three, four posts in a row before when I was coming kind of little faster and then I decide to take time and see what the goalie thinks,” Kuznetsov said. “So far it’s been working but I think I still have to mix once in a while so they don’t get used to.”

Opposing goaltenders are likely aware of Kuznetsov’s strategy at this point and are game-planning against it. One wonders how one might solve it. Does it require a goaltender to come way out of the net to force Kuzy to start skating again? Should a goalie try to force Kuzy to his backhand? It’s a guessing game. And for a magician with the puck like Kuznetsov, it allows him to rely more on his biggest strength: his stickhandling ability.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB