"Kuzy is an unbelievable player," says Washington winger Jakub Vrana. "He came in, showed up, scored two goals. I don't know how many points he had tonight …"
"Four," Vrana was informed.
"Four points, yeah," says Vrana, "He is a great player. Great playmaker, can score goals and he came in to play today. The last few games he has been unbelievable. It's important."
Kuznetsov piled up six goals and 12 points during the six-game homestand, two more goals than he scored in his previous 36 games (four goals, 28 points). With 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists) on the season now, Kuznetsov has surged into a tie with Nicklas Backstrom for second on the team in scoring. The two Washington pivots are among half a dozen players who are tied for 36th in the league's scoring race.
Better Third - The Caps' third line of Lars Eller between Andre Burakovsky and Brett Connolly continued to produce in Monday's game, getting a goal from Connolly late in the first period.
Connolly has four goals in his last four games, and the trio combined to produce six goals and a dozen points on the homestand. Washington got even-strength scoring from three of its four lines in Monday's win.
"It really makes us a difficult matchup," says Caps coach Todd Reirden. "I think that going on the road, everyone has their matchups that they want to get to, particularly as the home team. And I think we become a difficult matchup if that's how our top three lines are going to play, and then the fourth line can contribute some minutes and help out in different special teams areas of the game."