Evgeny Kuznetsov an innocuous question was asked about Sunday’s Capitals-Penguins game. With all the players in the Capitals injured and with the COVID protocol back, did it seem the most normal it has been throughout the season?
The question allowed Kuznetsov to spin and discredit his longtime opponent: the afternoon hockey games.
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“[There’s] something that bothers me, ”said Kuznetsov. “The game is at 3 pm. I don’t like those first games. I think hockey should start at 7 pm or 8 pm. “
In the past, Kuznetsov suggested in interviews that Capitals’ slow performance may have been due to early start times and he is probably not alone in how he feels. Hockey players are creatures of habit. They have their routines. They go for the morning skate, eat mom’s spaghetti, take a children’s nap in the middle of the afternoon, shake hands / weird pats while warming up, and then go to hockey.
In the interview, Kuznetsov also talked about how he was out of shape during training after contracting the coronavirus (“I’m happy to be alive”) and spending 19 days on the NHL’s COVID-19 Downtime List. He returned to the ice on Monday with Ilya Samsonov.
“For me, it was very difficult,” said Kuznetsov. “When I come home, I’m basically on my couch for the rest of the day. It’s not easy.”
As for the Penguins, Kuznetsov is eager to reconnect with the opponent he sent off in the 2018 Playoffs with a goal towards the end of the series.
“It is a great rivalry, an opponent for us,” said Kuznetsov. “These games are always exciting. It is good to play against them. I believe they love to play against us too.
“I am even more excited, but I have to be patient,” he added. “I have to be smart, I have to do my job on the ice first. Don’t try to do too much. There is not much juice inside me yet, but mentally I am 100 percent there. “