(Caps Outsider)
After Wednesday’s loss, the Caps announced Alex Ovechkin will not be participating in the All Star game this weekend due to a lower-body injury.
But something good happened: Evgeny Kuznetsov, who actually has more points than Ovechkin this season, will instead participate, along with Nicklas Backstrom, Braden Holtby and Barry Trotz. Meanwhile, Ovechkin will also miss the following game on Tuesday against Florida, which the NHL requires for a player who misses the All-Star game.
Here is the full statement from the Caps:
Evgeny Kuznetsov Selected to Participate in 2016 NHL All-Star Game
Kuznetsov will join Backstrom, Holtby and Trotz in Nashville
ARLINGTON, Va. – Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov has been selected to participate in the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game, the NHL announced today. The game will be played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Jan. 31. Kuznetsov will join Capitals teammates Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby on the Metropolitan Division Team and Barry Trotz will serve as head coach.
Kuznetsov has registered 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 47 games this season. The 6’2”, 192-pound center leads the NHL in primary assists (29), assists per 60 minutes (2.44) and multi-assist games (10), ranks tied for first in three-assist games (3), three-point games (7), plus/minus (+24) and points per 60 minutes (3.55), tied for fourth in assists (34) and multi-point games (14), tied for fifth in points (49) and tied for seventh in overtime goals (2). The Chelyabinsk, Russia, native registered his first career hat trick and tallied a career-high five points (3g, 2a) on Oct. 23 at Edmonton. He became the first Capitals player to record five points in a game since Backstrom (1g, 4a) on Dec. 10, 2013, against Tampa Bay and the first to tally five points on the road since Backstrom (1g, 4a) on Feb. 4, 2010, against the NY Rangers. On Jan. 19 at Columbus, Kuznetsov registered a career-high four assists, marking his second consecutive three-assist game (1/17 vs. NYR: 3a). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the fifth different player in franchise history to record three or more assists in back-to-back games and the first since Backstrom in 2007-08 (1/19/08-1/21/08: 8a).
