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Why Capitals Moved Kuznetsov Off Top Line, PP & Why It’s A Good First Step

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Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov found himself in somewhat unfamiliar territory at the team’s morning skate prior to a Saturday night tilt against the Montreal Canadiens, as the team’s No. 1 center with Nicklas Backstrom out of the picture is now No. 2 after back-to-back losses to open 2022-23.

Head coach Peter Laviolette took Kuznetsov off the top line, where he’s been for years alongside captain Alex Ovechkin, and also moved him from the first Capitals power play to the second unit. It’s a wake-up call for No. 92 and the club, which needs to turn things around and stop the bleeding quickly while getting back to its regular expectations.

“The standard right now is unacceptable,” Laviolette said of the changes, demanding more urgency.

And for the Capitals, moving Kuznetsov is a good step to get that message across.

To open the campaign, the 30-year-old hasn’t gotten off to an ideal start. He’s scoreless and hasn’t been able to control the puck as well as usually does. Kuznetsov also hasn’t done much to activate the power play or offense on that top line, and he is also struggling in the face-off dot and in battles for the puck. The Kuznetsov from last season hasn’t emerged yet, and perhaps a demotion will push him to elevate his game sooner rather than later.

Of course, the problem is also on the man advantage. The power play has gone 0-for-9 through the first two games. This much firepower should be able to convert, but instead, things appear stale. There’s not much movement, and the set-ups and plays aren’t there. While that may be a bigger problem that necessarily the pieces out there, making a personnel change can lead to different plays and connections. It’s at least worth a look.

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Not only that, but putting him on PP2 adds a little bit more star power to that second unit. PP1 is stacked, with Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson usually making up that first unit. Replacing Kuznetsov with Marcus Johansson and spicing up PP2 with a player like Kuzy can spread out that top-line talent a bit more.

Also, there’s no risk in moving down Kuznetsov at this point. It’s still early, and experimenting with lines while there’s still time to do so is a good first step, especially when Washington has dropped the first two games and is showing little chemistry to start the new year. Getting off on the right foot is important, and in the Capitals’ sense, that means stopping the bleeding and turning things around quickly to get right back to where they usually are.

Then, of course, there’s the need for some kind of change. Things aren’t clicking, and the offense isn’t generating. Not everyone is pushing themselves to their limits, and everyone needs to be on the same page. That means keeping track of the puck, moving around and generating new plays. Plus, Strome has shown great chemistry with Connor Brown, and he has also had an excellent start to the campaign. The 25-year-old has earned at least a look on the top line with things not going as planned. And if that means shifting down Kuznetsov, then so be it.

There’s nothing to lose by trying to change things up. The bottom line is that the formula hasn’t worked. And if there’s any better time in the year to do it, it’s now, when the playoff race isn’t in full swing and there’s still time to make necessary tweaks.