With forty-five seconds left in regulation and the Washington Capitals shorthanded and sans a goalie, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored one of the biggest goals of the season. Certainly the biggest of his career– seeing as it was his first. After Alex Ovechkin unleashed a rushed shot from the point, Kuzya did the dirty work in front of the net, backhanding the loose puck past Jonathan Quick. Game tied 4-4.
The goal set off a wild celebration among fans and players– with the exception of one guy, who had some captainly duties to perform.
This was Evgeny Kuznetsov’s first NHL goal, and Ovechkin was not going to let that milestone puck get away.
Note the sequence of events here. Kuznetsov scores, then Ovechkin dives ungracefully into the goal frame, reaches for the puck, gets up, and skates a million miles per hour towards his celebrating teammates.
Another look:
Even though there are so many things happening — loud horns sounding, teammates celebrating, a big game tied — it’s remarkable to me that Ovechkin’s first thought is to retrieve the puck for his teammate. It’s the little things.
