The Carolina Hurricanes won their first game following the trade deadline, defeating the New Jersey Devils 4-2 Saturday afternoon.
Making his debut in that win was newly acquired centerman, Evgeny Kuznetsov.
It had been over a month since Kuznetsov last played in a game (Jan. 27), but despite the time off, the Russian looked like he hadn't missed a beat.
"I haven't skated for 50 days or something like that, so skated a couple of times, but I don't think in this situation I needed any motivation," Kuznetsov said. "There was a lot of energy and a lot of motivation and the legs were there, the head was there, now just need to combine them together because I've been off the hockey for a little while. Felt very comfortable with the team. The guys are supportive and the coaching staff and everything was good."
"For a guy that hasn't played, he made some real nice plays tonight, especially early," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "There were a couple of backdoor tap-ins we just missed off of his plays and he even missed a backdoor tap-in too. For a guy that hasn't played in a long time, he definitely was impactful."
Kuznetsov played for 13:00 of ice time and on top of having two shots on goal and winning over 50% of his draws, he was also making some pretty high-end passes.
The Russian centered a line of Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jesper Fast which controlled both a CF% and xGF% over 50%.
Even though he hasn't learned a thing about the Canes' systems, he made it work and was certainly impactful.
"Talented players just know how to play," Brind'Amour said. "They just get it. So you can stick him into any system, and he doesn't know anything about what we're doing, but he just knows how to play. Hopefully he can continue that."
Kuznetsov took some shifts on the Hurricanes' top power play unit as well, primarily working on the left half-wall, and that could be a position that we see him in even more as the season continues.
"The way I understand it from the coaching staff is that they want me to be me," Kuznetsov said. "They don't want me to be a plumber out there. They want me to be me. To create and make those passes and it's kind of nice to hear that, so I have to understand that there is a right moment in a game, so I don't make too many passes."
It's been a whirlwind of a week already for Kuznetsov who's been through waivers, reassignment to the AHL, a trade to a new club, multiple flights and now a game.
"I've been on the run," Kuznetsov said. "I haven't had the opportunity to even sit down and talk with my wife fully and tell her the story and all that stuff. Just trying to focus day-by-day. Like I said, this was just fantastic for me. Playing hockey is huge and unfortunately I had to get traded and stuff like that, but it's all for a good cause, but I'm happy here and I'm going to do what's best for the team."
The Hurricanes are aware that while things may look pretty now, there's still a lot more games to go. Brind'Amour isn't in a rush to completely throw him into the top of the lineup and playing big minutes.
"I didn't want to overdo it," Brind'Amour said. "He looked like he could have played more, for sure, but you have to be careful with that because he's probably running on adrenaline here a little bit trying to impress his new club. We have a lot of games coming up."
And those games are coming quick with the next one just 24 hours away as the Canes return home for a showdown with the Calgary Flames on Sunday evening.
But Kuznetsov is very excited for that one too, mostly due to the anticipation to hear the home crowd at PNC Arena.
"I'm very pumped about the home game tomorrow. I'll finally get to know what it's like to be on the other side of the hell."