After rumors that he’d never play for SKA Saint Petersburg again and even had his locker removed, Evgeny Kuznetsov made his grand return to the team’s lineup on Saturday for SKA’s final game of the regular season against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. The longtime former Capital was out injured for the last month due to suffering a second concussion this season.
Состав на матч известен – вот он.
Вперед, наш СКА! pic.twitter.com/eJmyftXvIA— Хоккейный клуб СКА (@hcSKA) March 22, 2025
Head coach Roman Rotenberg gave Kuznetsov the captain’s ‘C’ for the game — an honor he also had at the beginning of the season — with Alexander Nikishin out with injury. He skated on the right wing of the team’s second line alongside Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov and fellow former NHL player Mikhail Grigorenko.
SKA went on to win 3-2 in a shootout, and Kuznetsov had an eventful game. In 16:20 of ice time, Kuznetsov tied for a team-high in shots (5) and won five of his six faceoffs. He also received a penalty shot.
Kuznetsov got the one-on-one opportunity in the third period after Torpedo forward Evgeny Svechnikov was penalized for throwing his stick. Opting not to go with his super-slo shootout move, Kuzy was unable to score and was stopped by Ivan Kulbakov. The Torpedo goaltender then taunted the 2018 Stanley Cup champion with his version of Kuzy’s bird celebration.
Worse yet, Kuznetsov left the ice injured at the end of the third. He was accompanied by an SKA doctor to the locker room, missing overtime and the shootout.
Kuznetsov’s appearance today was his first since a 6-2 loss to Kunlun Red Star on February 22. He has 37 points (12g, 25a) in 39 games with a plus-14 rating this season.
