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When the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup last June by beating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, it was the Capitals’ top two players who dominated the series. In the regular season rematch on Wednesday night, it was once again Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov who led Washington to an impressive 5-2 win.
Kuznetsov finished with four points, scoring one goal and assisted on three more, including on both Ovechkin’s two goals.
Kuznetsov got the scoring started with a power play goal just before the end of the first period. He then added a highlight of an assist as he showed patience, breaking the ankles of Knights defenseman Colin Miller in the process before finding Ovechkin at his office to extend the Capitals’ lead to 2-0 in the second.
John Carlson with the stretch pass.
Evgeny Kuznetsov with the patience.
Alex Ovechkin with the unstoppable one timer. pic.twitter.com/L1NbmtkP4e— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 11, 2018
Kuznetsov capped his four-point night with finding Ovechkin again on a 2-on-1 breakaway that halted Vegas momentum in the third period and extended the Caps’ lead to 4-2. Ovechkin moved passed Bobby Hull for 17th on the NHL’s all-time goals list with his 611th career goal.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: Evgeny Kuznetsov (Goal, 3 Assists) and Alex Ovechkin (2 Goals) lead the #Capitals to a 5-2 win over the Golden Knights! @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/fCrWGje1yf
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) October 11, 2018
During the Stanley Cup run, it was debatable who was the best Capitals player. Ovechkin ultimately was named the Conn Smythe, but Kuznetsov established himself as a budding star. Fast forward four months later, as the Russian duo is leading Washington’s charge for a repeat and the Golden Knights still have no clue how to stop them.
Washington now has scored 18 goals through three games as they have gotten off to a 2-0-1 start. Kuznetsov has contributed to the cause with three goals and four assists while the six-time NHL goals leader Ovechkin has four goals.
