A popular saying goes you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but it does not apply to 43-year-old Zdeno Chara, the oldest player in the National Hockey League.
On Thursday, Chara and Evgeny Kuznetsov, who looked like a father and son during a free skate, appeared to talk about goal cellys while warming up around the rink.
And then… it happened.
After a brutal first period, the Capitals finally showed signs of life with Evgeny Kuznetsov’s beautiful snipe on the power play.
If a bird celly won’t get this team playing better, nothing will.
After Devon Toews scored to put the New York Islanders up 4-1 over the Capitals, he used Evgeny Kuznetsov’s now-iconic bird walk celly to really rub it in. The Islanders Twitter account posted a video, calling it a “💯 celly” – thinking the game was over.
But you guys, it wasn’t. The Capitals scored five unanswered goals in the third period to win the game 6-4.
The Islanders got roasted so bad in their replies that they deleted the tweet.
By Donya Abramo 3 years ago
Through two periods of play, the New York Islanders’ fourth line has scored twice, buoying them to a commanding 4-1 lead at intermission.
Devon Toews was the latest fourth-liner to score, finding the back of the twine after his one-timer clanged off the post and in.
But it’s what happened next which drew the ire of Caps fans.
Evgeny Kuznetsov snuck one more goal into 2019 to get the Caps on the scoreboard against the Isles on New Year’s Eve.
To celebrate, Kuzy brought back the bird celly.
The bird is back.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the first minute of the rematch of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
The goal gave the Caps a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the game.
Coming into Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers, the Washington Capitals are the best team in the league and they’re taking this honor very seriously.
During a Very Serious Evgeny Kuznetsov interview, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom did Kuzy’s signature goal celebration, flapping their wings up and down like a bird.
After serving a three-game suspension, Evgeny Kuznetsov will make his season debut tonight against the Dallas Stars. For me, as a hockey fan, I’m excited because tonight’s game will finally give Kuzy, both the hockey player and the man, a chance to move forward and make amends for his positive cocaine test over the summer.
“Just a chance finally to get out of here from my house,” Kuznetsov joked Monday before turning serious about how difficult the summer has been. “It’s pretty much the same routine every day. Just come here, practice, get back home. If something happens, it’s pretty short.”
As someone who has covered Kuznetsov over the last nine years, I’ve seen a player with unrivaled talent – even as early as his teenage years in the KHL with Traktor Chelyabinsk – dominate. It was easy to predict he’d become a star and one of the most important Capitals players of all time. From his stickhandling and skating to his breakaway speed and shot, Kuzy is and always will be a top-tier hockey player. But what makes this bird so different — what makes him truly a superstar that we all rally around — is his joy for the game. When he doesn’t have it, he scuffles. He seems lost.
“How much do I love hockey? I can’t even describe,” Kuznetsov wrote in a 2015 Players’ Tribune article. “In Russia, we don’t really have a Christmas break, but from December 31 to January 3, everything closed. Even hockey school. These were the worst days of my life. Four days with no hockey, I get so depressed. I can’t even sleep. Just sit watching YouTube of Kovalev and wait.”
Evgeny Kuznetsov is suspended for the first three games of the regular season. He did not join the Washington Capitals on their flight to St. Louis for their season opener so he did the next best thing.
The Russian centerman went to Nationals Park with Designo Motoring’s Abe Hamrah to watch the NL Wild Card Game.
The Nats won in thrilling fashion after Juan Soto drove in three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
By Ian Oland 3 years ago
Hockey’s best goal celebration (if you ask us) will be appearing in NHL 20.
According to a video from Twitter user @JDaIey, Evgeny Kuznetsov’s bird celebration, which EA Sports’ has nicknamed The Eagle, is in the video game.
