Courtesy: Patrick McDermott – Getty Images
Evgeny Kuznetsov was close to lighting the lamp for his first career goal Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, tallied his first three NHL assists/points against the Vancouver Canucks Friday night and has displayed flashes of the player the Washington Capitals had hoped he would be. While there is still a feeling out process for his game to adapt to the North American style of hockey, has he shown enough offensive awareness and prowess for head coach Adam Oates to entertain throwing the 21-year-old out there as a regular with the top six forwards?
The scouting reports on the Russian seemed to be accurate as the forward has displayed impressive hands, good speed and a propensity to be around the net. Kuznetsov is not physically intimidating and likely will never be, but adding some size will help him fight for 50-50 pucks with defenders and allow him to shield defenders better as he gets closer to the crease.
Friday showed exactly what everyone was hoping they would see from Kuznetsov and more. His first of likely several three-point games in the NHL were essential in Washington’s victory and rightfully earned him the first star of the contest.
Kuznetsov told reporters following the game – I’m paraphrasing – that he enjoys playing with whoever is out there on his line. But a guy with his skillset and potential shouldn’t be wasted on the lower lines. He should be garnering more time with the top guys. Although, it has worked so far as the fourth line has been playing much better hockey since Kuznetsov has become a third of the threesome, and it’s allowed for a more aggressive brand of hockey.
As much as this stage of Kuznetsov’s career is developmental, the Capitals need to win hockey games. Luckily for Washington, they ran into a Vancouver team that has now won just four out of their last 18 hockey games. Both teams needed the win and the Capitals squeaked by in the end.
Even though it’s early, and the young forward still has a lot to learn about the game of North American hockey, what risk do the Capitals face in giving Kuznetsov more ice time and with the more talented guys?
Washington doesn’t have father time in their favor as they have just 14 games remaining and they are still three points out of the final Wild Card playoff spot. The Detroit Red Wings are ahead of the Capitals and are two points behind the No. 8 seed Philadelphia Flyers. Both of those squads have 16 games remaining and 73 and 75 points respectively.
The Capitals are still very much alive.
But adding Kuznetsov could propel this team into one of the final two playoff positions.
The issues with this team are more defensive than offensive. At this stage of the game, boosting the offensive production is one of the only outlets to counteract the lack of consistency and hockey IQ on the back end in front of the netminder.
I proposed these lines in an earlier blog when Kuznetsov first became a member of the team:
Marcus Johansson – Nicklas Backstrom – Alexander Ovechkin
Dustin Penner – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Brooks Laich – Joel Ward
Eric Fehr – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson
There are two issues:
1. Putting all of the eggs in one basket in the top six forwards
2. Breaking up the third line and moving Fehr to the fourth line
The third line has been the best and most consistent line for the Capitals lately, so these proposed lines don’t make sense in that regards. Also, while there are scoring threats in the top six, the bottom six are more physical players who tend to create less offensive opportunities.
Kuznetsov needs to see more than 9:58 TOI though. Plain and simple. He’s learning on the fly, starting to get accustomed to the power play as he has seen time on the man-up situations at least once a game. Oates is integrating him slowly and making him earn it.
But sometimes playing and coaching like your job depended on it – and it might – is the way to go.
It’s 14 games… this small stint will help Kuznetsov prepare for the 2014-15 season. The Capitals need to win now though and the forward can help in that department.
