Evgeny Kuznetsov entered into the Capitals’ matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on uneven footing. After playing three games alongside Alex Ovechkin, head coach Spencer Carbery had broken up the pairing and demoted Kuznetsov to the second line.
Kuznetsov’s play against Vegas did little to prove Carbery’s decision wrong. Although he started the night between Sonny Milano and Hendrix Lapierre, Kuznetsov moved down to the fourth line in the third period before Carbery benched him entirely at the end of the game.
Washington’ new second line got off to a rough start Saturday night, allowing the first goal of the night 8:53 into the first. Their woes continued through the first two periods: Vegas outshot the trio 6-1 and out-chanced them 4-2 at five-on-five.
The final straw for Kuznetsov came on a roughing call late in the second, where he gave the Golden Knights their fourth power play of the game following a collision with forward Jonathan Marchessault.
After finishing the middle frame in the box, Kuznetsov moved down to the fourth line between Beck Malenstyn and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. He still kept his spot on the power play, going out for 1:11 when Marchessault took a penalty call of his own, but did not play during the six-on-five late in the period. Ultimately, Carbery opted to bench him entirely after just three full shifts on the fourth line.
Per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, Kuznetsov’s 15:20 total TOI marked his lowest of the season. He played just 3:41 in the final 20 minutes, ending his last shift with 5:54 left to go.
Ahead of the game, Carbery cited poor analytics to explain the initial move to the second line, though he did not speak about Kuznetsov after the game. Kuznetsov has struggled to produce for much of the 2023-24 season, currently on pace for his lowest-scoring campaign since his sophomore year.
“We’re looking at a different look up front and it might move around a little bit,” Carbery said Saturday afternoon. “The line, just overall, we’ve been having some success but it hasn’t fared well analytically at all so we’ve got to look to make some adjustments and change some things up. Even though the old adage from a coach is that you keep it the same or a lot of coaches keep it the same when you win. But I think that’s not forward thinking.
“In order for us to play better, sustain pressure, especially against a team like the Golden Knights, we’re going to need production from all four lines. Being able to do that, we just feel like we need a bit of a different look.”
If he chooses to change the lines once again, Carbery will have a practice on Sunday to prepare before the Capitals face the Arizona Coyotes Monday night to close out their five-game road trip.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
