Evgeny Kuznetsov Struggling to light the lamp this season. He has six goals in 51 games with a shooting percentage of 5% – 6.2% less than his career average. But there is one thing that gets automated about it. Cozy has linked in all three of his penalty attempts in the shootout this season after missing seven of his previous 10 attempts during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.
So what does it give?
Cozy has mastered it super slow wwwww The penalty kick move, which is silly and hard to stop.
It has also become a viral sensation.
Yevgeny Kuznetsov did it again… 😂 pic.twitter.com/01NxuOu0Fz
– Brady Tritinero (@BradyTrett) January 27, 2023
Thursday against the Penguins, Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals in a second-round shootout. Cozzy started at the Capitals’ goal line, worked his way up the ice quickly, then smashed volleys into center ice after collecting the puck with his stick. Causey scored about twenty times before firing a shot past Casey Desmith when the goalkeeper tried to clear the ball.
Backstrom would score on the Capitals’ next attempt, giving Washington the much-needed extra point in the standings. Cozy He also moved into third place in total penalty kick goals in the NHL.
Kuznetsov did Slownetsov moved Every time he has appeared in a shootout this season, including games on Thursday, November 17, 2022, against the St. Louis Blues and October 31, 2022, against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Kuznetsov beat Thomas Grace with a forehand kick after the Blues goalkeeper ran out of the net for a challenge.
And Kuznetsov beat Friedrich Andersen, who sat deep in the crease, and beat the Hurricane goalkeeper with a forehand kick.
On all three shots, Kuznetsov plays chicken with the goalkeeper and fires his shot from just feet from the net. The move places the blame on Kuznetsov for not being checked by the goalkeeper and possibly lifting the puck either over a pad or past an outstretched arm.
With such little netminder reaction time, I asked Kuzy if he Slonetsov In the end it gives him an advantage.
“I don’t know how to be honest with you,” said Kuznetsov. “I do not know what [the goalies] I guess but I feel more comfortable in terms of timing and stick handling. In terms of my angle, I feel more comfortable going slower. “
The move is so awkward and requires so much patience that I wondered if Kuznetsov’s goal was to get the goalkeeper to move first, similar to a soccer penalty, allowing Kuzy to take his bid.
“You can ask them, maybe they are all different,” said Kuznetsov. “I look at the goalkeeper for a long time and see what he does, how deep he is.”
One player who may have inspired Kuznetsov’s sloth-like style is Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, though Causey would neither confirm nor deny this. Kane skates the puck hard in the area before placing spacers in circles and then makes a dazzling display of stick handling, trying to find a hole to put the puck into.
Despite being one of the best skaters and skaters in the National Hockey League, Kuznetsov has long preferred to be patient in penalties, sliding towards the net during his attempts. One such example is this penalty shootout goal against the Ottawa Senators in 2017.
When Kuznetsov stretched poorly with his original move, he elected to go slower to see if it would help. I did.
“I felt like I had three or four jobs in a row before when I was a bit faster and then decided to take some time and see what the goalkeeper thinks,” Kuznetsov said. “So far it has worked but I guess I still have to socialize now and then so they don’t get used to it.”
It is likely that the goalkeepers are aware of Kuznetsov’s strategy at this point and plan the game against it. One wonders how it can be solved. Does the goalkeeper need to get out of the net to force Kosi to start skating again? Should the goalkeeper try to force Cozy into his backhand? It is a guessing game. And for a magician like Kuznetsov, it allows him to draw more heavily on his biggest strength: his maneuverability.
Banner photo: Alan Dobbins / RMNB