Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov left Wednesday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets with an upper-body injury. The team announced he would be re-evaluated on Thursday.
Capitals Lose Evgeny Kuznetsov
The injury occurred midway through the first period after receiving a hit to the head from Jets forward Brandon Tanev. Tanev received a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head. Kuznetsov took a shift on the powervplay after the hit but left shortly after and did not return.
Tanev raises his arm up as he’s looking to finish a check on Kuznetsov and catches Kuznetsov’s head. Although he stayed out for one more shift, he clearly looked dazed and will surely go through concussion protocol.
Anytime there is a hit to the head you automatically think concussion. Hopefully, this is not the case for the Capitals star. We can only suspect Tanev will be receiving a call from the Department of Player Safety as hits to the head are something the league is taking very seriously and looking to remove for the game completely.
What This Means for the Future
If Kuznetsov is forced to miss any time, it would be an absolutely massive blow to the defending Stanley Cup champions. Kuznetsov is currently the Capitals scoring leader with five goals and 16 assists in 17 games this season. He is also coming off a career season where he posted 27 goals and 56 assists in 79 games. If Kuznetsov does, in fact, miss some time, Lars Eller will be the main beneficiary of ice time and will have a much larger role moving forward.
Main Photo: WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 10: Evgeny Kuznetsov #92 of the Washington Capitals in action against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period at Capital One Arena on October 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
