Kuznetsov has been getting more time on the wing for the Capitals. Here's what he said about it.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals have been looking to get more out of Evgeny Kuznetsov, and now, they're getting a closer look at him in a different position.
Over the last few games, Kuznetsov has been moved from his natural center position to the wing, with either Hendrix Lapierre or Nic Dowd taking that spot down the middle.
For head coach Spencer Carbery, it's all part of the hunt for consistency on the forward lines, especially with regard to No. 92.
Washington is 42 games into the 2023-24 campaign and remains one point out of a Wild Card spot, and 21 of those games have been decided by one goal. Kuznetsov himself has seen his share of struggles, posting just six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 38 games. He has a plus/minus of minus-12, and he is on pace for a career-low 28 points.
"Kuz, just trying some things with him to see if maybe he's a better option on the wing at this point right now inside of our group at this point of the season," Carbery said.
For Kuznetsov, it has given him the opportunity to see the game from a new perspective, though he doesn't put much weight on his role.
"You can see game from different angle when you play the wing. It's a different game and you know, I'm just glad that I'm there and trying to make plays and play hockey," Kuznetsov said. "To be honest with you it doesn't really matter to me who's left or who's right; it's just five guys working together on the ice."
The Kuznetsov-Lapierre-Mantha trio had an expected goals for percentage of 61.38 during their time together on the ice, and the Kuznetsov-Dowd-Wilson line had a xGF% of 95.72 in its limited time together on the ice.
Whether or not the Kuznetsov wing experiment will last remains to be seen, especially with Alex Ovechkin's return imminent. However, for Carbery, trying him out on wing opens up more options as the team looks to spark his game and find offense on all four lines.
"Just look at different ways to utilize. Now we're getting some consistency with three lines, so how does that third, second line (look)," Carbery explained.