Evgeny Kuznetsov: ‘We Have Lots of Balls in This Locker Room’

Photo: Drew Hallowell
Ahead of Game Six in Pittsburgh, Evgeny Kuznetsov had something profound to say, which I’m now going to share with you.
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Photo: Drew Hallowell
Ahead of Game Six in Pittsburgh, Evgeny Kuznetsov had something profound to say, which I’m now going to share with you.
The Washington Capitals have played eleven games in this year’s postseason and, so far, forward Michael Latta has been a healthy scratch in all of them.
Normally the fourth-line center, since late February Latta has basically been replaced by Mike Richards. Sitting out can be difficult, but for Latta, it’s been more of an honor. Richards was Latta’s favorite hockey player as a child.
By 7 years ago
Justin Williams attempts a shot behind the backboard.
On Saturday night, Justin Williams scored his second goal of the postseason, going five hole on Matt Murray (this was literally a minute after Pierre McGuire praised a Murray five-hole save). The goal inspired Hall of Fame broadcaster Doc Emrick to tell a story.
The Washington Capitals must win their next two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins to keep their Stanley Cup dreams alive. Yet, if you think the players are figuratively drowning in a sea of anxiety, you’d be wrong. So. Very. Wrong.
For example, let’s take a closer look at this post-practice interview with Jason Chimera.
Photo: Amanda Bowen
Evgeny Kuznetsov put himself on the map as a star in the NHL during the regular season. Building off of a solid playoff performance in the spring of 2015, the Caps’ Russian center led the Caps with 77 points, posting 20 goals and 57 assists in 82 games. Entering the playoffs, Kuznetsov was expected to lead a second line that would give the Caps a top-six as feared and productive as they’ve had in the playoffs during the Alex Ovechkin era.
Through 11 games, that hasn’t happened. Kuznetsov has posted just one goal and one assist. I’m not going to make a definitive narrative about Kuznetsov as a player based off of these 11 playoff games. To do so would be both shortsighted and disingenuous. After all, Kuznetsov was great in the playoffs last year. Further, the sample of games in the playoffs is generally so small that it’s dangerous to build a narrative off of, as a few good games can result in a total reversal of any playoff-based narrative.
While keeping in mind that an 11-game sample isn’t enough for any grand takeaways on Kuznetsov as a player, the fact remains that his production (goals, points) has fallen off a cliff at the time when the Caps need him the most.
But here’s the thing: Kuznetsov has actually been a more dangerous player during the playoffs than he was during the regular season. The only thing keeping this from showing up on the score sheet is that he and his linemates haven’t been able to bury their chances. Call it bad puck luck, a cold streak, or whatever you want, but the bottom line is Kuznetsov has been doing everything right in the playoffs but the often-fickle results haven’t yet fallen in line with the rock-solid process.
Comparing regular season numbers to the playoffs, let’s take a look at the numbers to support this.
By Patrick Holden 7 years ago
Photo: Rob Carr
The Caps are still alive. The team in red defeated the Penguins 3-1 on Saturday night to force a Game Six in Pittsburgh Tuesday night.
The Caps by no means dominated this game, but they played well enough to win and got some timely goals and saves. Peter wrote a great recap of the game that you should read, but below we’ll take a look at the numbers from the victory.
By Patrick Holden 7 years ago
Heading into Game Five, we had heard plenty of “Murray! Murray!” chants from the home crowd in Pittsburgh. Penguins rookie netminder Matt Murray, 21, has stolen the show, stopping 81 of 85 shots in his last two games. He has relegated franchise netminder Marc-Andre Flurey, currently signed to a four-year, $23 million contract, to backup duty. Murray’s numbers are brilliant, with a 6-2 record, 2.00 goals-against average, and a .930 save percentage in the postseason.
But on Saturday night, it was Braden Holtby’s time to reclaim the spotlight. Holtby, a near lock to win the Vezina Trophy for goalie of the year, stopped 30 of 31 Pittsburgh shots in the elimination game. His heroics kept Washington’s season alive. Now the series shifts to Pittsburgh with the Capitals down 3-2. Without Holtby, Washington may have been packing up their sticks at Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Monday.
By Chris Gordon 7 years ago
Six days ago, the Penguins defeated the Capitals at Verizon Center and their fans got raucous on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery.
Saturday, after the Caps thumped the Penguins 3-1 in Game Five, a handful of Caps fans defended the steps with their own celebration. Pittsburgh fans were nowhere to be seen. Now that’s moar like it!
By Peter Hassett 7 years ago
Photo: Patrick Smith
How great are the Washington Capitals? I mean, how totally great are the Washington Capitals? Look at how the Capitals played in game five. They played great, so totally great, you will love how great they played. And the Penguins? Bad. So bad.
How’d the game start? Boom. Alex Ovechkin power play goal. But the Penguins came back, because the Penguins don’t respect us, they think we’re jokes, just like the rest of the world, and that’s why Chris Kunitz scored on a rebound.
But the Capitals are gorgeous so — and you’re going to love this — TJ Oshie scored a power-play goal and then Justin Williams put one in Matt Murray’s five-hole, really schlonged him there.
Caps beat Penguins 3-1.
By Peter Hassett 7 years ago
Did you know that the Capitals are allowed to have a two-goal lead? I did not, and yet here we are, watching the Capitals have a two-goal lead.
The goal scorer was Mister Game Five, Justin Williams. The goal was a five-holer, which might be Matt Murrary’s weakness after all.
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